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This posting of the RF Alumni Research Bulletin includes information on Awards and Opportunities, Online Publications, Internet Spotlight, and Research Tip for March 2010. The DRC Staff Awards and Opportunities:
Online Publications: Internet Spotlight:
Research Tip:
Improving the Human Condition Around the World
http://www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKrH/b.932829/k.3656/International_Grantmaking__Human_Rights_and_International_Justice.htm Source: John D & Catherine T MacArthur Foundation. The MacArthur Foundation is a private, philanthropic organization based in the United States that makes grants with the aim of helping improve the human condition around the globe. As well as the United States, the foundation has four offices around the world in Nigeria, Mexico, India and Russia. Grants in Nigeria aim to expand and strengthen the network of human rights organizations that provide the basic infrastructure for a national human rights culture based on the rule of law. Grants support leading human rights organizations, both nationally and in selected states, including Rivers, Lagos, Plateau, and Kano. Grants are awarded only to organizations that define clear objectives for their work and measures of progress toward those objectives.
Call for nominations, The Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian
http://www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org/forum/topic/show?id=780588%3ATopic%3A228243&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_topic The Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize is the world’s largest humanitarian award established by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in 1996. It carries an award of $1.5 million annually and it is considered to be “one of the largest monetary prizes in any category – equal to the Nobel Prize. The award honors a charitable organisation or an NGO which has made “extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering anywhere in the world. “The Prize is not only intended to recognise and advance the efforts of the recipient organization, but also to call attention to the worldwide need for humanitarian aid and encourage others to expand their support.” Prize (application deadline: 30 April, 2010) Online Publications: Africa Education Watch: Good governance lessons for primary education
Guinea's Journey towards Democracy. Source: IFES. This report notes that following years of discouraging setbacks, democracy may finally be emerging as a credible reality for the West African state of Guinea.
Somalia: A New Approach. Source: Council on Foreign Relations. In this special Report (CSR), Bronwyn E. Bruton calls for "constructive disengagement," a policy in which the United States would "signal a willingness to coexist with any Islamist group or government that emerges, as long as it refrains from acts of regional aggression, rejects global jihadi ambitions, and agrees to tolerate the efforts of Western humanitarian relief agencies in Somalia."
Can Economic Reform Open a Peaceful Path to Ending Burma’s Isolation? Source: USIP. After decades of domestic conflict, military rule and authoritarian governance, Burma’s economy could provide a viable entry point for effective international assistance to promote peace. Doing so would require a d"_blank">Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers. A Revised Edition. ( in Nepali) Source: International IDEA. This report examines the obstacles confronted by women when entering politics and presents a range of solutions, such as changing electoral systems and introducing quotas. It also provides strategies for women to influence politics once elected to parliament.
Designing Democracy Source: Victoria and Albert Museum. 1989 was the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. This was but one of the most dramatic of a whole series of breakthroughs by political movements across Central and Eastern Europe which brought down the reigning totalitarian regimes. The Museum has placed online an excellent international collection of political posters produced by various opposition groups and organisations. The posters come from several countries including Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia (as it was then), Poland and Romania; the period covered is from 1980 (when the trade union Solidarity was born in Poland) to the early 1990s, by which time Western-style elections had been held throughout the region. These changes can now also be seen as precursors to a more general reunion of Europe, not least in the shape of the European Union.
From the Ferghana Valley to South Waziristan. Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Economics. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are active fronts in the wider conflict against violent extremism centered on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Although these states are less prominent in discussions about U.S. security interests in the region than nuclear-armed Pakistan, their stability is an important and unacknowledged component of the AfPak equation.
The Future of NATO Source: An International Institutions and Global Governance (IIGG) report. This report notes that the United States will "lose interest" in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) if the organization "fails to accept a growing global role," warns James M. Goldgeier. In order to remain relevant, "NATO must expand its traditional understanding of collective defense to confront the twenty-first-century threats of terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to both states and nonstate actors, and cyberwarfare."
Ukraine Says 'No' to NATO Source: PEW Research Center. This report notes that Ukraine's new governing coalition recently announced its intention to pass a law against joining military alliances, which will fulfill Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's campaign promise to prevent Ukraine from becoming a member in NATO. Yanukovych's move to ban Ukraine from joining NATO is not without a base of public support. A September 2009 survey by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project found that half of Ukrainians (51%) opposed their country's admission to NATO, while only 28% favored such a step. Moreover, given the opposition to membership, it is not surprising that about half of Ukrainians (51%) gave NATO an unfavorable rating.
Haitians Express High Resolve, Community-Mindedness Source: Gallup. Gallup polling in Haiti finds the Haitian people to be highly resilient, resourceful, and community-minded. Widespread belief in their own talents and high levels of community engagement may be key assets in the country's recovery and rebuilding.
Honduran Political Crisis, June 2009-January 2010 Source: Congressional Research Service (via Secrecy News/Federation of American Scientists) This report notes that on June 28, 2009, the Honduran military detained President Manuel Zelaya and flew him to exile in Costa Rica, ending 27 years of uninterrupted democratic, constitutional governance. Honduran governmental institutions had become increasingly polarized in the preceding months as a result of Zelaya’s intention to hold a non-binding referendum and eventually amend the constitution.
Party Caucuses, Party Discipline and Professional Performance in the Peruvian Legislature Source: International IDEA. This report studies the internal dynamic of congressional groups and identifies their strengths and weaknesses and provides a base from which steps toward reform and strengthening can be taken. In Spanish.
Inter American Commission Report on Democracy and Human Rights in Venezuela. Source: Organization of American States (OAS). In order to observe the human rights situation in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela[2] (hereinafter “Venezuela”, or “the State”), the IACHR undertook its last on-site visit in May 2002. This visit took place at the request of President Hugo Chavez Frías, who in 1999 visited the offices of the IACHR, at the headquarters of the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C., being the first head of state to undertake a visit to the IACHR.
The Dynamics of North African Terrorism. Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). This report notes that terrorism has plagued the Maghreb for decades, long before the attacks of September 11 forced the United States to respond to al Qaeda. Before 2001, however, North African terrorism was largely contained and local¬ized. Today Maghreb extremists have developed into complex organiza¬tions that combine religious ideology with criminal networks, operating both locally and globally. As extremism has evolved in North Africa, U.S. ties with the region have also changed. Today the United States has rela¬tions with every government in the Maghreb. This new dynamic presents an opportunity for the United States to work with its regional allies in the fight against terrorism, while also promoting interregional cooperation.
Economic Challenges in Post-Conflict Iraq | Center for Strategic and International Studies Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Economics are as important to Iraq’s stability and political accommodation as security and governance, and they are equally critical to creating a successful strategic partnership between Iraq and the United States. It is far from easy, however, to analyze many of the key factors and trends involved. Iraqi data are weak and sometimes absent. U.S. and Coalition forces generally failed to look in detail at many of Iraq’s most serious economic problems, or they issued heavily politicized reports designed to show that Iraqi “reconstruction” had been far more successful than it really was.
The Economics of Influencing Iran Source: Brookings Institution. In this Middle East Memo, Suzanne Maloney takes a detailed look at the challenges of implementing an effective sanctions policy to halt Iranian nuclear enrichment. In reviewing the current diplomatic landscape, Iran’s domestic situation and the Iranian regime’s historical responses to economic pressure, Maloney argues that sanctions can only achieve modest objectives, and proposes strategies for gaining international support and achieving these objectives.
The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood: Islamist Participation in a Closing Political Environment. Source: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP). This paper notes that by scaling back its political engagement to focus on a traditional religious, educational, and social agenda, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is leaving behind an even greater lack of political competition in the country. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has begun to scale back its political engagement because the results have been few, government repression continues, and other opposition groups mistrust the movement. Instead it will focus on a traditional religious, educational, and social agenda. The consequence result will be an even greater lack of political competition.
Entrepreneurial Goals Common Among Young in Arab States. Source: Gallup. "The Silatech Index: Voices of Young Arabs" report reveals widespread entrepreneurial ambitions among Arabs aged 15 to 29. Across 20 Arab League countries surveyed, a median 27% of young Arabs who were not already business owners said they intended to start a business in the next 12 months.
The Iraq Effect The Middle East After the Iraq War Source: RAND. This report offers a comprehensive and nuanced assessment of how the toppling of Saddam Hussein and the civil strife that followed are reshaping the greater Middle East. The authors capture the diplomatic, political, and economic dimensions of the region today and offer valuable lessons for US policymakers."
Morocco: Current Issues Source: Congressional Research Service. The United States government views Morocco as a moderate Arab regime, an ally against terrorism, and a free trade partner. King Mohammed VI retains supreme power but has taken incremental liberalizing steps. Since 9/11, Moroccan expatriates have been implicated in international terrorism, and Morocco has suffered terror attacks. Morocco takes a proactive approach to countering terror, but some of its measures may be setting back progress in human rights.
Shifting Sands: The Impact of Satellite TV on Media in the Arab World Source: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) Today, media in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are freer than they were a decade ago, with a proliferation of satellite television news channels leading the way. Arab newscasts cover events in real time, sometimes scooping their Western competition with spot news coverage of regional events. Government-run media have been forced to compete or lose audiences. Yet most governments in the MENA region have managed to retain a tight grip on media, whether through the arbitrary application of restrictive and vague press laws or limits on media production. This report examines the positive effects satellite coverage has had on the media environment and the reasons why the region still lacks overall media freedom.
Taliban Increasingly Unpopular in Pakistan. Source: Gallup. Gallup surveys show the Taliban lost much of the little favor they had in Pakistan between June and December last year. Four percent of Pakistanis in late 2009 said the Taliban has a positive influence in some areas of the country, down from 15% earlier in the year.
Troubled Partnership: U.S.-Turkish Relations in an Era of Global Geopolitical Change. Source: RAND Corporation. This report notesA strong security partnership with Turkey has been an important element of U.S. policy for the last five decades. However, in the last few years, U.S.-Turkish relations have seriously deteriorated, and today they are badly in need of repair. The arrival of a new administration in Washington presents an important opportunity to put Washington’s relations with Ankara on a firmer footing. Turkey plays a critical role in four areas of increasing strategic importance to the United States: the Balkans, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the Middle East, and the Persian Gulf. In each of these areas, Ankara’s cooperation is vital to achieving U.S. policy objectives.
A Conflict Cycle Perspective on Electoral Violence Source: International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). While the development community often looks to elections to stabilize and legitimize government, elections often bring social tensions to a head and may trigger violence. Election-related violence.
The Compendium of International Legal Instruments and Other Intergovernmental Commitments Concerning Core Civil Society Rights. Source: Civil Society Watch programme, CIVICUS. For the first time ever, CIVICUS has brought together all the commitments made by national governments to protect the rights of citizens and organizations to exist and take an active part in shaping policies and practices of governments and institutions of their country. The Compendium of International Legal Instruments and Other Intergovernmental Commitments Concerning Core Civil Society Rights, is a dynamic tool to help protect the rights of civil society. Download a copy of the compendium PDF here
Designing for Results: Integrating Monitoring and Evaluation in Conflict Transformation Programs. Source: Search for Common Ground in partnership with the United States Institute for Peace and the Alliance for Peacebuilding. Theses manuals addresses the many challenges faced by conflict transformation practitioners in their attempts to measure and increase the effectiveness of their work with practical tips and examples from around the world.
Click here to download part 1 of the manual Click here to download part 2 of the manual
Freedom on the Net: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media . Source: Freedom House. As internet and mobile phone use explodes worldwide, governments are adopting new and multiple means for controlling these technologies that go far beyond technical filtering. Freedom on the Net provides a comprehensive look at these emerging tactics, raising concern over trends such as the "outsourcing of censorship" to private companies, the use of surveillance and the manipulation of online conversations by undercover agents. The study covers both repressive countries such as China and Iran and democratic ones such as India and the United Kingdom, finding some degree of internet censorship and control in all 15 nations studied.
Humor as Nonviolent Resistance to Oppression Source: Centre for Peace and Reconciliation Studies, Coventry University. Humor as nonviolent resistance to oppression is an understudied area within peace studies, and little attention has been given to how and why humor can be a powerful strategy in challenging oppression. This dissertation explores a new area of study and makes the first attempts of building a theory of the functions of humor as nonviolent resistance to oppression.
Libya/Chad: Beyond Political Influence Source: International Crisis Group. This report examines the evolution of Tripoli’s policy towards its neighbour from open imperialism to support in peace negotiations with armed rebels and with Sudan. Libya has been the most important country for Chad since Gaddafi came to power in 1969, but its approach has had mixed results.
Making Presidentialism Work Source: International IDEA. This report available in Spanish and English deepens the understanding of the role played by presidential systems in democracies and democratization processes. It explores the specific characteristics of the presidential systems’ institutional design that allow these systems to provide greater stability and/or more efficient governments that favor the most poor.
Reinventing the Media Investor Source: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA). This will be an occasional series of feature articles profiling people who are making a difference in the field of international media development. Our inaugural piece, Reinventing the Media Investor, is about Sasa Vucinic, managing director of the Media Development Loan Fund.
Trends in Human Development Source: Francisco R. Rodríguez. Has the world become a better place to live in during the past few decades? Views on the answer to this deceptively simple uestion vary widely. For some, the past 40 years have seen the expansion of a voracious form of global capitalism that has made people more vulnerable by taking away many of their basic protections. For others, this is the golden age of globalisation, in which many countries decided to embrace the logic and opportunities of the market and have seen unprecedented progress as a result. What do the data say? As part of our research for the 2010 Human Development Report, we are looking at the evolution of the Human Development Index (HDI) to try and find the answer.
Internet Spotlight:
Browse Newspapers in the Google News Archive Source: Resource Shelf. One of the best in the search engine industry, the eagle-eyed Barry Schwartz from Search Engine Roundtable, and Search Engine Land, has just posted an item about how to take advantage of a new Google feature that lets users virtually browse newspapers in the news archive. Directions and screen caps are included.
Compare social media tools Source: FUMSI. A recent post on the Lifehacker blog includes a handy chart with side-by-side comparisons for the various features of Google Buzz, Twitter, and Facebook, including privacy, use and management, access/openess, and mobile experience.
Department of State Launches New Tool to Foster Online Open Dialogue Source: Department of State and the University of California at Berkeley’s Center for New Media (BCNM), The Department of State today launches “Opinion Space”, an interactive site hosted on State.gov that seeks to foster global conversations on foreign affairs.“Opinion Space will harness the power of connection technologies to provide a unique forum for international dialogue. This is an example of what we call 21st century statecraft and an opportunity to extend our engagement beyond the halls of government directly to the people of the world. I can’t wait to be a part of this exciting new conversation,” said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Exploring the lighter side of rights advocacy Source: Tactical Tech How can rights advocates address serious issues but still make people laugh?. This video, which tells the story of advocates who have used humor as a tactic in Egypt, Belarus and across Asia, is always greeted with much laughter from the audiences at our various 10 tactics screenings. Find guidance from respected info-activists and try out some new tools to help you use humor as a tactic for advocacy.
Feasibility vs. constraints – learning with mobile phones Source: CrissCrossed Blog. Mobile phones have tiny screens and keyboards, and need an agile finger to handle them. Yet some pioners believe mobile phones might be a key learning device for the future, and have even come up with smart ideas to make learning on the go a motivating and interactive approach. No doubts that if mobile learning (mlearning) works, it can potentially reach millions of people, who have difficulties to get access to learning materials, otherwise.
Future of eReader Screen Technology Source: Resource Shelf. A very interesting and thorough article that you don’t have to be a computer screen expert to understand. Well done! From an IEEE Spectrum Article by Jason Heikenfeld: It’s 2020, and it’s sunny outside. In fact, it’s so bright in your kitchen that you have to squint to see your grapefruit. You flip on your e-reader and the most recent e-issue of IEEE Spectrum pops up on-screen, the colors and text sharp and brilliant in the sunlight. There’s e-mail to answer, but you want to make the early commuter bus, so you roll up your e-reader and stuff it in your jacket pocket. On the bus, you switch the device to physically rigid mode and half the screen becomes a large keyboard. You bang out a few messages, then watch a short video. All the while the unit is charging its battery through a built-in organic solar cell. That’s my vision of the future of periodical literature—or rather, the future of periodical delivery. It combines the orderly, portable, full-color format of today’s print publications with the flexibility, timeliness, and multimedia capabilities of online magazines. And the only component still lacking is a screen that’s easy on the eyes in all sorts of lighting conditions, displays full-motion and full-color images, is rollable and durable, and uses precious little power.
The Impact of the Internet on Institutions in the Future Source: PEW Research Center. Most technology experts and stakeholders say innovative forms of online cooperation could result in more efficient and responsive organizational structures for business, non-profits and government by the year 2020.
Internet access is 'a fundamental right' Source: BBC. A survey - of more than 27,000 adults across 26 countries - found strong support for net access on both sides of the digital divide. Countries such as Finland and Estonia have already ruled that internet access is a human right for their citizens. International bodies such as the UN are also pushing for universal net access.
The Intern"nofollow" target="_blank">Tool for Archiving Your Facebook Content, Twitter Too! Source: Resource Shelf. The archiving of social media content is an interesting and important topic that requires a dialogue between social net providers, the archive and library communities, and if possible, users. If social media continues becoming the primary way we communicate with each, who will be collecting and permanently saving this record? Does it need to be saved in the first place. Will/Should every user be responsible for their own material on their own computer or should these archives be in the cloud? Or, will it just be ephemeral and gone in a few days after posting? This topic is briefly touched on in this post by Susan Thomas from the futureARCh blog. The focus is Facebook and she reports that there is possibly some automated “friend” who will archive your content. She never heard of this service and neither have we. Thomas does introduce us to an experimental Firefox add-on that will archive some of your Facebook content on your computer. It’s called ArchiveFacebook 1.1.
Using Twitter and Wikipedia Included in (New) Reuters Social-Media Guidelines Source: Resource Shelf. While this document is intended for journalists and others working at Reuters, we think info pros will find it interesting and potentially useful. Reuters published its guidelines for reporting via the Internet and using social media, stressing transparency in using social media, including mentioning affiliation with Reuters and stating that opinions expressed are personal, as well as clearing the use of social-media sites with managers, and breaking news via the wire rather than via Twitter or other sites.
Wikipedia Wants Your Video!Source: Resource Shelf. Open Video Alliance and Wikipedia are working together to bring more video content to Wikipedia. They’ve setup a web page for the project at: http://videoonwikipedia.org. Moving images can communicate ideas in ways that text can’t. We think this is the next step in Wikipedia’s evolution. Let’s Get Video on Wikipedia is part of our effort to support both individuals and institutions who wish to contribute to this vision. For individual contributors, we are offering the best and easiest tutorial anywhere on How to Post a Video to Wikipedia, along with a number of community-based projects to support collaborative work.
Research Tip:
OpenThesis is a searchable database of theses, dissertations, and other academic documents. While some full-text is available it provides users primarily with bibliographical information, including author, school, title, abstract, date of publication, and more.
After creating a free account, users can use the basic or advanced search function to look for material by keyword, title, author, university, etc. OpenThesis encourages individuals to upload their own dissertations, theses, or academic papers to support the reading and use of these important documents.
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The RF Alumni Research Bulletin is designed for Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Alumni as a benefit of being an alumnus. It will not be made available online or shared with the general public. |
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