On October 20, 2014, the European Union and the Republic of Tajikistan took part in their fourth Cooperation Council meeting, during which the European Commission released its decision to significantly expand its development aid to this developing Central Asian country. The Commission’s aid to Tajikistan will increase by €251 million from 2014 to 2020 and will go towards…
[The following paper was presented by Professor Badiul Alam Majumdar, Ph.D., Global Vice President and Country Director, The Hunger Project–Bangladesh at the International Political Science Association (IPSA), 10 July 2014] “People are poor because they are powerless. We must organize people for power. They must organize themselves in such a way that they can change…
The rise of global inequality and the concentration of wealth is undermining democracy and citizen participation. The rise of urban elites in developing countries in Africa and Asia is affecting and slowing down the process of decentralization. Institutional spaces are becoming inadequate to foster citizen participation in decision making for mobilization and utilization of public…
The current pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong is yet another example of a push for good, local, democratic governance. China’s move to limit the electoral freedom of Hong Kong might have served as an immediate cause, the protest is a reflection of the growing consensus for accountable governance. A movement that was witnessed in the…
One could argue that citizens are more aware of local problems than are public officials. However, active citizenry that takes party in decision making on both locally concerning and national issues requires an enabling environment that empowers and incentivizes people. The very aspect of initiatives on local democracy or social accountability should be empowering enough…
The Advisory Committee for the Human Rights Council presented its progress report on the role of local government in the promotion and protection of human rights (A/HRC/27/59) for the 27th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, on September 4, 2014. Local Government is one of the seven thematic issues the Advisory Committee is…
The Hunger Project is proud to announce the release of the 2014 State of Participatory Democracy Report (SPDR). The 2014 report presents the most extensive comparative global study to date on one of the most important, yet most frequently ignored, issues in development – the effectiveness of local government. Fortunately, as the world formulates its Sustainable…
