ABSTRACTUnder what conditions is gender equality policy advocacy successful? This article examine... more ABSTRACTUnder what conditions is gender equality policy advocacy successful? This article examines a segment of the largely quantitative comparative political science literature that seeks to answer this question. Recent scholarship emphasizes such factors as the strength of women's movements and the forms of opposition to which their policy demands give rise. However, one consequence of this approach is that the role of strategic choices made by feminist policy advocates is underestimated in explaining their successes. The article argues that understanding variation in the outcomes achieved by women's rights advocates requires close attention to the strategic capacity of policy entrepreneurs, assessed in terms of three inter‐related activities: (1) ‘framing’ policy demands; (2) forming and managing civic alliances; and (3) engaging with state entities without compromising organizational autonomy.
The first book to examine India's Special Economic Zones and the different popular perception... more The first book to examine India's Special Economic Zones and the different popular perceptions - both good and bad - surrounding this issue.
The purpose of this research was to reveal to reform-minded policy makers the specific conditions... more The purpose of this research was to reveal to reform-minded policy makers the specific conditions under which organs of the state may be expected to become more responsive to the poor. It explored the politics of policy (formulation plus implementation) with particular reference to health and agriculture, using the method of intensive case study in two Indian states (Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh) and two medium-sized African countries (Ghana and Uganda). It was undertaken by a team based at ODI and IDS in the UK with partners in India, Ghana and Uganda. It was conducted alongside and integrated conceptually with research into “How, When and Why does Poverty get Budget Priority?” undertaken by the Centre for Aid and Public Expenditure at ODI.
Democratic Emerging Powers (DEPs) such as Brazil, India, and South Africa, aspire for a more prom... more Democratic Emerging Powers (DEPs) such as Brazil, India, and South Africa, aspire for a more prominent role in global politics. This publication analyzes the hitherto neglected role of DEPs in the international human rights system, based on their involvement in the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Security Council, and the international development machinery. DEPs have to straddle domestic political pressures, ongoing support for developing countries conceptions of state sovereignty, and the protection of national interests from potentially intrusive monitoring regimes. The authors conclude that DEP governments have prioritized pragmatism over principle. Consequently, similar to the established Western democratic powers, DEPs have turned into inconsistent advocates for democracy and human rights on the international stage.)
Participatory planning and budgeting, which are key elements of progressive decentralization prog... more Participatory planning and budgeting, which are key elements of progressive decentralization programs today, provide opportunities for better local accountability to the poor. But the only way of verifying that both national and local-level budgetary commitments, such as spending in areas of particular concern to women, are actually implemented is through direct auditing by poor communities and service users. Participatory auditing measures, however, are almost never included in public-sector accountability reforms. As a result, poor people, and particularly poor women, do not normally closely scrutinize government spending at the local level. Financial auditing is seen as the preserve of skilled officials. Equally unusual is the engagement of poor service users in ‘social audits’ that involve detailed monitoring of public-service delivery and the use of official mechanisms for actionable complaint. And yet, experience suggests that the most effective means of improving the quality ...
But without direct or indirect control over a critical mass of the humanitarian and development a... more But without direct or indirect control over a critical mass of the humanitarian and development agencies concerned, a new commission, working with little more than a mandate to "coordinate" the efforts of U.N. and other actors working in post-conflict countries, would seem to be of dubious value. 9 11 8 The gradual expansion of the various dimensions of peacebuilding is documented in HO-WON JEONG, PEACEBUILDING IN POSTCONFLICT SOCIETIES: STRATEGY AND PROCESS (2005), as well as in policy-analysis documents such as Shepard Forman, Building Civilian Capacity for Conflict Management and Sustainable Peace (2004), available at http://www.cic.nyu.edu/archive/conflict/Forman-%20Building%20Civilian%20 Capacity.pdf. 9 This was a prominent view in the extensive consultations on institutional design that preceded the PBC's establishment-among member-states, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), U.N. officials, and policy academics.
Negotiated peace agreements rarely address the legacy of wartime sexual violence committed by sta... more Negotiated peace agreements rarely address the legacy of wartime sexual violence committed by state and non-state armed actors, even in cases where mass rape has been a prominent feature of the conflict. This article examines why this has been the case. It assesses the implications of UN Security Council resolution 1820 (June 2008), which calls for internationally mediated peace talks to address conflict-related sexual violence; advances reasons why doing so may contribute to more durable peace; and outlines where specific textual references to sexual violence in peace agreements could enhance the well-being of survivors and reduce the chances of brutal and widespread sexual violence persisting in the post-conflict period. The article focuses on five types (or elements) of peace agreement: (1) early-stage agreements covering humanitarian access and confidence-building measures; (2) ceasefires and ceasefire monitoring; (3) arrangements for demobilization, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) and longer-term security sector reform (SSR); (4) post-conflict justice institutions; and (5) provisions relating to reparations for victims of serious human rights abuses.
This article seeks to identify the factors that have contributed to the Indian government's thus-... more This article seeks to identify the factors that have contributed to the Indian government's thus-far successful introduction of liberal economic reforms amidst a liberal political system. For the purposes of this analysis, 'success' is not defined in terms of improved macroeconomic or social development indicators. These may well emerge over the long
This paper reflects on the roles played by the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission in its fir... more This paper reflects on the roles played by the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission in its first two years of existence. It discusses various features of the Commission's design and mandate before focusing on its ability to disseminate international norms to a broad array of key actors in global politics. Still carving out its institutional niche in the crowded field of international post-conflict state reconstruction, the Commission faces difficulties in fulfilling its core mandate of increasing coordination among the multilateral agencies, bilateral aid programmes, and non-governmental organizations involved. The paper argues that the Commission has been more successful as a mechanism for reaffirming international norms. Specifically, it has helped to shore up the norm of state sovereignty in the domain of development cooperation, making the Peacebuilding Commission a significant forum for establishing the limits of donor influence in post-conflict states.
Not least among the achievements of India's sixty-year-old democratic experiment is the sheer dur... more Not least among the achievements of India's sixty-year-old democratic experiment is the sheer durability of its liberal constitutional system. Almost no other country that attained independence in the post-Second World War wave of decolonization has managed continuously to hold free and fair elections, protect and augment fundamental rights, and maintain civilian control of the military. But many Indians insist that their democracy be held to a higher standard and thus judged against the world's most successful democracies, not the dysfunctional postcolonial countries that happened to come of age at the same historical moment. The relevant yardstick from this perspective-the quality shared by the world's most mature democraciesis the ability to deepen democracy, that is, to make politics more inclusive and the state more accountable. Democratic deepening in India has undoubtedly been impressive. But as we shall see, it has progressed much further in terms of inclusiveness than with respect to accountability. Indian democracy's signal achievement has been to broaden the narrow social base on which its representative institutions stood at the time of independence in 1947. India's initial crop of political parties was dominated by English-speaking professionals from elite backgrounds. India's legislatures were disproportionately populated by the richer and better-educated groups in the Hindu social order, the socalled upper castes. The Indian National Congress (also known as the Congress party) dominated the first two decades of postindependence politics, receiving its first major jolt from power in the 1967 state-level elections. Another decade elapsed before Congress first lost power at the national level-to a coalition government that barely managed two
This chapter analyses the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (NRE... more This chapter analyses the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (NREGA) in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The chapter reports on both quantitative (survey-based) and qualitative (interview-based) data conducted in the state. The strong movement organizations that played such a central role in the development of NREGA in Rajasthan were largely absent in Madhya Pradesh. The implications of NREGA for parties, clientelist politics, and voting behavior are also assessed. While Rajasthan experienced a change of party rule during the period studied (2008-2013), Madhya Pradesh did not – but neither this nor the variation in the strength of “movement” politics in the two states made a significant difference in the implementation of NREGA. Evidence from both states indicates that anxieties in the literature about civil society being “coopted” and losing autonomy when engaging cooperatively at times with governments are exaggerated.
One indication that a new accountability agenda is indeed emerging is the political backlash it h... more One indication that a new accountability agenda is indeed emerging is the political backlash it has engendered. The motives of the critics vary widely, and are expressed differently in different contexts. In this chapter, we examine three streams of criticism: (1) that the design of new accountability initiatives tends to depoliticize the activism of the poor, or at least to channel it into activities that fail to challenge the structural power of political elites; (2) that non-state-centred accountability experiments stunt the development of formal political institutions; and (3) that the increasing surveillance of officials stifles bureaucratic initiative and inhibits the development of a public-service culture more generally.
That actors in accountability relationships are assuming new roles implies the emergence of new m... more That actors in accountability relationships are assuming new roles implies the emergence of new methods. For instance, direct citizen involvement in auditing government expenditure, discussed in Chapter 4, catalysed a novel means for detecting and exposing malpractice: the public hearing. This chapter examines new methods that have emerged as a result not merely of there being a greater number of actors in the accountability business, but as a consequence of the changing nature of boundaries in an era of globalization. It thus focusses on the relationship between how accountability is being sought and where it is being sought. The use of new methods for monitoring the actions of power-holders, and the recourse to (or the effort to legitimize) alternative accountability jurisdictions — literally from the local to the global — has generated new expectations about (and therefore new standards of) accountability, the subject of Chapter 6.
... credit. 32 32 CP Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh, Regulating Labour Markets for More Employme... more ... credit. 32 32 CP Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh, Regulating Labour Markets for More Employment, Business Line (Chennai), November 12, 2002. View ... reform. 35 35 Ashutosh Varshney, Mass Politics or Elite Politics? India's ...
An innovative movement in the state of Rajasthan has substantially altered India's public discour... more An innovative movement in the state of Rajasthan has substantially altered India's public discourse on how best to combat forms of corruption which particularly afflict the poor. Spearheaded by the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), or Workers and Farmers Power Organisation, this movement demands and frequently obtains access to official expenditure records which citizenactivists then cross-check in a kind of people audit. The MKSS collective process has exposed fraud in several local governments, deterred further malfeasance in others, influenced legal debates, and generated a wider campaign for legislative and regulatory change at the state and national level. Several organisations within lndia vast and varied civil society share either the MKSS concern for empowering the poor by halting the theft of public resources intended for them, or its enthusiasm for actively challenging the culture of bureaucratic secrecy -but not both. Many environmental activists, for instance, demand access to government information; their primary aim, however, is not checking misuse of public funds intended for the poor. Other groups share the MKSS's preoccupation with combating corruption, but without emphasising the type of popular auditing which only access to official records makes possible. In short, no other group has brought together the otherwise over-used and under-specified ideas of transparency and accountability in such a creative, consistent, and collective fashion. This article suggests reasons why it is particularly difficult for civil society to organise effectively to curb forms of corruption that disproportionately harm the poor. In the process, we engage with ongoing debates in the international literature on civil society's contribution to accountable governance. In particular, we take issue with currently fashionable views on the state's ability to 'foster' the emergence of forms of civil society that effectively articulate the interests of poor and marginalised people. The Indian case material highlights the unpredictability of statecivil society interactions at the best of times, and the outright undesirability of many associational forms which have been fostered through state action. The argument is not that We have addressed this issue at greater length in Jenkins and Goetz (1999b). U This theme is elaborated in greater detail in Chapter 7 of Jenkins (1999).
The Princes of India and the Endgame of Empire, 1917–1947 by Ian Copland (Cambridge: Cambridge Un... more The Princes of India and the Endgame of Empire, 1917–1947 by Ian Copland (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, 302 pp., $59.95).Resisting Regimes: Myth, Memory and the Shaping of a Muslim Identity by Shail Mayaram (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1997, 298 pp., $32).Colonial Hegemony and Popular Response: Princes, Peasants, and Paramount Power by Hira Singh (London: Sage Publications, 1998, 274 pp.,
ABSTRACTUnder what conditions is gender equality policy advocacy successful? This article examine... more ABSTRACTUnder what conditions is gender equality policy advocacy successful? This article examines a segment of the largely quantitative comparative political science literature that seeks to answer this question. Recent scholarship emphasizes such factors as the strength of women's movements and the forms of opposition to which their policy demands give rise. However, one consequence of this approach is that the role of strategic choices made by feminist policy advocates is underestimated in explaining their successes. The article argues that understanding variation in the outcomes achieved by women's rights advocates requires close attention to the strategic capacity of policy entrepreneurs, assessed in terms of three inter‐related activities: (1) ‘framing’ policy demands; (2) forming and managing civic alliances; and (3) engaging with state entities without compromising organizational autonomy.
The first book to examine India's Special Economic Zones and the different popular perception... more The first book to examine India's Special Economic Zones and the different popular perceptions - both good and bad - surrounding this issue.
The purpose of this research was to reveal to reform-minded policy makers the specific conditions... more The purpose of this research was to reveal to reform-minded policy makers the specific conditions under which organs of the state may be expected to become more responsive to the poor. It explored the politics of policy (formulation plus implementation) with particular reference to health and agriculture, using the method of intensive case study in two Indian states (Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh) and two medium-sized African countries (Ghana and Uganda). It was undertaken by a team based at ODI and IDS in the UK with partners in India, Ghana and Uganda. It was conducted alongside and integrated conceptually with research into “How, When and Why does Poverty get Budget Priority?” undertaken by the Centre for Aid and Public Expenditure at ODI.
Democratic Emerging Powers (DEPs) such as Brazil, India, and South Africa, aspire for a more prom... more Democratic Emerging Powers (DEPs) such as Brazil, India, and South Africa, aspire for a more prominent role in global politics. This publication analyzes the hitherto neglected role of DEPs in the international human rights system, based on their involvement in the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Security Council, and the international development machinery. DEPs have to straddle domestic political pressures, ongoing support for developing countries conceptions of state sovereignty, and the protection of national interests from potentially intrusive monitoring regimes. The authors conclude that DEP governments have prioritized pragmatism over principle. Consequently, similar to the established Western democratic powers, DEPs have turned into inconsistent advocates for democracy and human rights on the international stage.)
Participatory planning and budgeting, which are key elements of progressive decentralization prog... more Participatory planning and budgeting, which are key elements of progressive decentralization programs today, provide opportunities for better local accountability to the poor. But the only way of verifying that both national and local-level budgetary commitments, such as spending in areas of particular concern to women, are actually implemented is through direct auditing by poor communities and service users. Participatory auditing measures, however, are almost never included in public-sector accountability reforms. As a result, poor people, and particularly poor women, do not normally closely scrutinize government spending at the local level. Financial auditing is seen as the preserve of skilled officials. Equally unusual is the engagement of poor service users in ‘social audits’ that involve detailed monitoring of public-service delivery and the use of official mechanisms for actionable complaint. And yet, experience suggests that the most effective means of improving the quality ...
But without direct or indirect control over a critical mass of the humanitarian and development a... more But without direct or indirect control over a critical mass of the humanitarian and development agencies concerned, a new commission, working with little more than a mandate to "coordinate" the efforts of U.N. and other actors working in post-conflict countries, would seem to be of dubious value. 9 11 8 The gradual expansion of the various dimensions of peacebuilding is documented in HO-WON JEONG, PEACEBUILDING IN POSTCONFLICT SOCIETIES: STRATEGY AND PROCESS (2005), as well as in policy-analysis documents such as Shepard Forman, Building Civilian Capacity for Conflict Management and Sustainable Peace (2004), available at http://www.cic.nyu.edu/archive/conflict/Forman-%20Building%20Civilian%20 Capacity.pdf. 9 This was a prominent view in the extensive consultations on institutional design that preceded the PBC's establishment-among member-states, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), U.N. officials, and policy academics.
Negotiated peace agreements rarely address the legacy of wartime sexual violence committed by sta... more Negotiated peace agreements rarely address the legacy of wartime sexual violence committed by state and non-state armed actors, even in cases where mass rape has been a prominent feature of the conflict. This article examines why this has been the case. It assesses the implications of UN Security Council resolution 1820 (June 2008), which calls for internationally mediated peace talks to address conflict-related sexual violence; advances reasons why doing so may contribute to more durable peace; and outlines where specific textual references to sexual violence in peace agreements could enhance the well-being of survivors and reduce the chances of brutal and widespread sexual violence persisting in the post-conflict period. The article focuses on five types (or elements) of peace agreement: (1) early-stage agreements covering humanitarian access and confidence-building measures; (2) ceasefires and ceasefire monitoring; (3) arrangements for demobilization, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) and longer-term security sector reform (SSR); (4) post-conflict justice institutions; and (5) provisions relating to reparations for victims of serious human rights abuses.
This article seeks to identify the factors that have contributed to the Indian government's thus-... more This article seeks to identify the factors that have contributed to the Indian government's thus-far successful introduction of liberal economic reforms amidst a liberal political system. For the purposes of this analysis, 'success' is not defined in terms of improved macroeconomic or social development indicators. These may well emerge over the long
This paper reflects on the roles played by the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission in its fir... more This paper reflects on the roles played by the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission in its first two years of existence. It discusses various features of the Commission's design and mandate before focusing on its ability to disseminate international norms to a broad array of key actors in global politics. Still carving out its institutional niche in the crowded field of international post-conflict state reconstruction, the Commission faces difficulties in fulfilling its core mandate of increasing coordination among the multilateral agencies, bilateral aid programmes, and non-governmental organizations involved. The paper argues that the Commission has been more successful as a mechanism for reaffirming international norms. Specifically, it has helped to shore up the norm of state sovereignty in the domain of development cooperation, making the Peacebuilding Commission a significant forum for establishing the limits of donor influence in post-conflict states.
Not least among the achievements of India's sixty-year-old democratic experiment is the sheer dur... more Not least among the achievements of India's sixty-year-old democratic experiment is the sheer durability of its liberal constitutional system. Almost no other country that attained independence in the post-Second World War wave of decolonization has managed continuously to hold free and fair elections, protect and augment fundamental rights, and maintain civilian control of the military. But many Indians insist that their democracy be held to a higher standard and thus judged against the world's most successful democracies, not the dysfunctional postcolonial countries that happened to come of age at the same historical moment. The relevant yardstick from this perspective-the quality shared by the world's most mature democraciesis the ability to deepen democracy, that is, to make politics more inclusive and the state more accountable. Democratic deepening in India has undoubtedly been impressive. But as we shall see, it has progressed much further in terms of inclusiveness than with respect to accountability. Indian democracy's signal achievement has been to broaden the narrow social base on which its representative institutions stood at the time of independence in 1947. India's initial crop of political parties was dominated by English-speaking professionals from elite backgrounds. India's legislatures were disproportionately populated by the richer and better-educated groups in the Hindu social order, the socalled upper castes. The Indian National Congress (also known as the Congress party) dominated the first two decades of postindependence politics, receiving its first major jolt from power in the 1967 state-level elections. Another decade elapsed before Congress first lost power at the national level-to a coalition government that barely managed two
This chapter analyses the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (NRE... more This chapter analyses the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (NREGA) in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The chapter reports on both quantitative (survey-based) and qualitative (interview-based) data conducted in the state. The strong movement organizations that played such a central role in the development of NREGA in Rajasthan were largely absent in Madhya Pradesh. The implications of NREGA for parties, clientelist politics, and voting behavior are also assessed. While Rajasthan experienced a change of party rule during the period studied (2008-2013), Madhya Pradesh did not – but neither this nor the variation in the strength of “movement” politics in the two states made a significant difference in the implementation of NREGA. Evidence from both states indicates that anxieties in the literature about civil society being “coopted” and losing autonomy when engaging cooperatively at times with governments are exaggerated.
One indication that a new accountability agenda is indeed emerging is the political backlash it h... more One indication that a new accountability agenda is indeed emerging is the political backlash it has engendered. The motives of the critics vary widely, and are expressed differently in different contexts. In this chapter, we examine three streams of criticism: (1) that the design of new accountability initiatives tends to depoliticize the activism of the poor, or at least to channel it into activities that fail to challenge the structural power of political elites; (2) that non-state-centred accountability experiments stunt the development of formal political institutions; and (3) that the increasing surveillance of officials stifles bureaucratic initiative and inhibits the development of a public-service culture more generally.
That actors in accountability relationships are assuming new roles implies the emergence of new m... more That actors in accountability relationships are assuming new roles implies the emergence of new methods. For instance, direct citizen involvement in auditing government expenditure, discussed in Chapter 4, catalysed a novel means for detecting and exposing malpractice: the public hearing. This chapter examines new methods that have emerged as a result not merely of there being a greater number of actors in the accountability business, but as a consequence of the changing nature of boundaries in an era of globalization. It thus focusses on the relationship between how accountability is being sought and where it is being sought. The use of new methods for monitoring the actions of power-holders, and the recourse to (or the effort to legitimize) alternative accountability jurisdictions — literally from the local to the global — has generated new expectations about (and therefore new standards of) accountability, the subject of Chapter 6.
... credit. 32 32 CP Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh, Regulating Labour Markets for More Employme... more ... credit. 32 32 CP Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh, Regulating Labour Markets for More Employment, Business Line (Chennai), November 12, 2002. View ... reform. 35 35 Ashutosh Varshney, Mass Politics or Elite Politics? India's ...
An innovative movement in the state of Rajasthan has substantially altered India's public discour... more An innovative movement in the state of Rajasthan has substantially altered India's public discourse on how best to combat forms of corruption which particularly afflict the poor. Spearheaded by the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), or Workers and Farmers Power Organisation, this movement demands and frequently obtains access to official expenditure records which citizenactivists then cross-check in a kind of people audit. The MKSS collective process has exposed fraud in several local governments, deterred further malfeasance in others, influenced legal debates, and generated a wider campaign for legislative and regulatory change at the state and national level. Several organisations within lndia vast and varied civil society share either the MKSS concern for empowering the poor by halting the theft of public resources intended for them, or its enthusiasm for actively challenging the culture of bureaucratic secrecy -but not both. Many environmental activists, for instance, demand access to government information; their primary aim, however, is not checking misuse of public funds intended for the poor. Other groups share the MKSS's preoccupation with combating corruption, but without emphasising the type of popular auditing which only access to official records makes possible. In short, no other group has brought together the otherwise over-used and under-specified ideas of transparency and accountability in such a creative, consistent, and collective fashion. This article suggests reasons why it is particularly difficult for civil society to organise effectively to curb forms of corruption that disproportionately harm the poor. In the process, we engage with ongoing debates in the international literature on civil society's contribution to accountable governance. In particular, we take issue with currently fashionable views on the state's ability to 'foster' the emergence of forms of civil society that effectively articulate the interests of poor and marginalised people. The Indian case material highlights the unpredictability of statecivil society interactions at the best of times, and the outright undesirability of many associational forms which have been fostered through state action. The argument is not that We have addressed this issue at greater length in Jenkins and Goetz (1999b). U This theme is elaborated in greater detail in Chapter 7 of Jenkins (1999).
The Princes of India and the Endgame of Empire, 1917–1947 by Ian Copland (Cambridge: Cambridge Un... more The Princes of India and the Endgame of Empire, 1917–1947 by Ian Copland (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, 302 pp., $59.95).Resisting Regimes: Myth, Memory and the Shaping of a Muslim Identity by Shail Mayaram (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1997, 298 pp., $32).Colonial Hegemony and Popular Response: Princes, Peasants, and Paramount Power by Hira Singh (London: Sage Publications, 1998, 274 pp.,
Uploads
Papers by Rob Jenkins