Amandla

Global financial crisis
Part of the BBC News service, this site brings together their coverage of the global financial crisis from the sub-prime mortgage crisis in 2007, the global credit crisis in 2008 where problems in the banking sector led to failure, recapitalisation and takeover of a number of banks, the broader financial downturn / recession and various associated issues, including the economic stimulus and rescue packages by government. Information is broadly presented chronologically with the most recent stories first, however themed areas look at the economic downturn in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, market data, timelines of various events, features and analysis, plus basic introductions to some of the key concepts. It includes video reports, feedback from the public and columns from key commentators including their business editor Robert Peston. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.bbc.co.uk/creditcrunch

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Amnesty International resources
This site is maintained by international human rights group Amnesty International. It provides free access to press releases, statements, maps, campaign materials and full text Amnesty International reports relating to human rights in the DR Congo. Thses include coverage of armed conflict, refugees, humanitarian aid, political violence, torture and ill treatment in the region. Materials generally date from approximately 1998 onwards.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo- tracking the Eastern Congo conflict : Ushahidi
Ushahidi is an interesting example of web 2.0 technology being used by grass roots activists. It uses mashup technology to provide summaries and locate on maps and satellite images the extent and nature of incidents during the war / conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC Congo) in 2008. On the ground citizen journalists send in reports via mobile phones, these are then mapped online and sent for NGOs and aid agencies for verification. Users of the site can view the latest messages, recorded incidents plus news links to headlines from official news agencies and peace keepers operating in the region. Incidents recorded include human rights abuses, torture and political violence.
http://drc.ushahidi.com/

Intute.ac.uk

The UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union have issued a new report, Assessing Regional Integration in Africa (ARIA III): Towards Monetary and Financial Integration in Africa. According to the press release, the report "states that to overcome the enormous difficulties in achieving the desired macroeconomic convergence criteria set by Regional Economic Communities (RECs) African countries could utilize monetary unification and financial integration associated with multiple and non-convertible currencies and with underdeveloped capital and financial markets. It also states that several RECs have adopted common macroeconomic policy frameworks and convergence targets, underpinned by monetary and financial cooperation many others are close to achieving these targets, while others are struggling."

UN Pulse

Nuremberg Trials and their Legacy

Nuremberg Trials and their Legacy is an online exhibition of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) designed to mark the 60th anniversary of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. The site includes background information to the Nuremberg trials and photographs from the International Military Tribunal. There are video clips, requiring RealPlayer, of interviews with people involved in collecting evidence for the Nuremberg trials. Links are given to related resources including articles from the Museum’s Holocaust Encyclopedia and a bibliography of the Nuremberg trials. A discussion board allows users to post comments and engage in discussion on the holocaust. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/focus/warcrimetrials/comment_post.php

Youthink
Youthink has been created by a group of young people at the World Bank in response to questions they were receiving about development issues and policies. It is aimed at a youth audience with specialist sections for younger children and teachers, but provides an introduction to some of the key issues in economic and social development and the role that the World Bank plays. The range of issues covered includes debt relief, the environment, trade, globalisation and urbanization. Each issues page includes an introductory briefing linking to further resources, including multimedia files, opportunities to take action and key facts. There are plenty of downloadable teaching resources usually in form of factsheets, but also including online games, photo galleries / slideshows and audio / video resources. The site also includes a glossary of basic development terms and is presented in a number of languages. Intute.ac.uk
http://youthink.worldbank.org/

International Security under President-elect Obama: RUSI analysis
This site has been created by Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI). It provides access to a small collection of articles and comments made after the presidential election victory of Barack Obama in November 2008. They include analysis of possible foreign policy changes and the challenges that face him. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.rusi.org/publication/analysis/ref:A4911AC4084BBF/act:list/

Part of the OECD website, this portal brings together work from their Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs and other parts of the OECD on international investment instruments. It includes information on the effects of sovereign wealth funds (SWF) - government controlled investment funds worth hundreds of millions of dollars - on investment markets, the free market / protectionist debate and recipient countries / companies. The website includes reports, policy papers and accounts of meetings held to discuss the issue, plus guidance on how interacting with SWFs should be transparent and non discriminatory. Information is broken by down into statistics, publications and country based sections, with links to accompanying news / event listings. Many of the documents are presented as PDF files and some are available in multiple languages. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.oecd.org/daf/investment/foi

Democratic republic of the Congo: Human Security Gateway resources
The Human Security Gateway is a joint project of the Human Security Centre (HSC) Group and Simon Fraser University It aims to provide researchers with a searchable database of links to key websites, full-text reports, journal articles, news items and fact sheets relating to human security worldwide. Human security is defined as the protection of individuals from wars, civil wars and violence. It website enables users to search or browse by country or topic. Topics covered include: peace keeping operations, children and armed conflict, international humanitarian law, gender and security and refugees. Each resource has an added description of content. The section on DRC Congo includes discussion of conflict and war in the region, the humanitarian crisis in 2008, human rights abuses, refugees and the peace keeping process. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.humansecuritygateway.info/search.php?advanced=yes®ions[]=7

Democratic Republic of the Congo: FCO resources
This site is maintained by the British Foreign and Commonwealth office (FCO). It provides free access to materials from the British government about the political and economic situation in the region and British foreign policy towards the DRC Congo. It includes recent press releases, statements by the Foreign secretary, Foreign Office advice and links to related webcasts of parliamentary debaates. Topics covered include political crises and conflict. The main emphasis is upon current news. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/newsroom/newsfiles1/drc/

Selection and Deselection of Political Elites (SEDEPE) network
The SEDEPE network (Selection and Deselection of Political Elites) is an international network of scholars who study and research political elites. A key area of concern are issues relating to undertstanding and coding ministerial selection, deselection and movement (ministerial reshuffles). The website provides information on the aims and membership of the group. It includes calendars of events. Users may also download some papers and datasets from the website. These include data set on ministerial careers in a large number of European and non-European democracies. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.mzes.uni-mannheim.de/projekte/sedepe/homepage.php

Extreme right politics: IRR resources
This site provides access to news and articles about right wing political parties compiled by the Institute of Race Relations London. They include recent news paper articles about parties at national local and regional level in European nations. This includes coverage of the rise of the BNP (British National party)in the UK, its role in elections, membership and impact on society. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.irr.org.uk/right/index.html

BNP and the far right: Guardian coverage
This site is maintained by the Guardian newspaper . It provides free access to news stories and comment on current events, the nature and impact of the BNP and other far right groups on British politics and society. In addition to news headlines, the site also includes blog postings and photographs. Other features include biographical profiles of BNP leaders, data on BNP membership and details of their recent election results. The main emphasis is upon current events, although some older materials can be acessed free of charge or purchased via the online archive. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/bnp-far-right

Heednet

Heednet (Heterodox Economics for Environment and Development Network) is a group of researchers, academics, policymakers and others interested in bringing a "diverse and dynamic range of economic thinking" to environmental and sustainable development policy, by taking a heterdox economics approach to research, teaching and training. The Network aims to bring together academics and policymakers for a dialogue on current environmental and sustainable development policy issues and foster co-operation in promoting heterodox economics teaching in environmental policy. The website includes a membership list, details of events organised by and of interest to the Network, a brief bibliography of relevant readings, an archive of research papers (available as PDF files), links to related websites and further details on the work of the Network. Users can also subscribe to the email discussion list.Intute.ac.uk
http://www.heednet.org/

The latest report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Somalia has been issued (S/2008/709). The report provides an overview of the political and security developments over the past few months, reports on the activities of the UN and the international community, and records the observations of the Secretary-General on the situation in Somalia.

Permalink UN Pulse

The UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) recently launched an on-line web portal on anti-corruption in Africa. The site will provide a forum to share information and build a database of best practices and policies. According to the press release, the project grew out of the recommendations of the Institutions, Culture and Corruption in Africa meeting in October. The anti-corruption portal is part of a larger Knowledge Sharing portal. Permalink UN Pulse

The recently formed ANC breakaway party, Congress Of The People (COPE), has launched a new website and Facebook group.

The new website, hosted at http://www.congressofthepeople.org.za/ , provides information about the new party such as its declaration, membership details and media statements. 

The Facebook group – which complements the party’s news website - has attracted 1 242 members so far.

From:

2008 presidential transition: a weblog by the IBM center for the Busineness of Government
This weblog was created by the IBM Center for the Business of Government to provide coverage of the 2008 American presidential elections and the transition of Barack Obama to the American presidency in January 2009. It includes discussion on the management of the transition and its possible impact on American policy and government. There are also materials discussing the presidential elections. Intute.ac.uk
http://transition2008.wordpress.com/

Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images: images from the Cultural Revolution
This site offers free access to a gallery of images from photographer Thomas H. Hahn. This section contains a collection of photographs relating to the Chinese cultural revolution (approximately 1966-1976). They include materials relating to the politics of the Chinese Communist Party and the impact of the 'revolution' upon industrialisation and other economic and social reforms of the time. For example they include 14 images of the Drills and practices of the Peoples Liberation Army in the early 1970s and the official Xinhua News Agency propaganda series of the 1971 Asian-African Ping Pong Friendship Tournament Copyright and technical details are displayed on the website. Intute.ac.uk
http://hahn.zenfolio.com/f320124069

Capacity survey: regional and other intergovernmental organisations in the maintenance of peace and security

This site provides free access to the full text of the first ever global survey capacities of 21 regional organisations active in the field of peace of security (conflict prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping, enforcement, and peace-building). It was published by the by the United Nations University (UNU-CRIS) in 2008. The 159 page survey provides information on the experience of the organisations, their organisational and resource capacity, enabling direct comparisons. Organisations surveyed are: African Union; Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); Caribbean Community (CARICOM); Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) ;Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Commonwealth Secretariat (COMSEC) ; Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP); Council of Europe (COE) ; Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) ; Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ; European Union (EU) ; Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) International Organization of Francophonie (IOF) ; League of Arab States (LAS) ; North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); Organization of American States (OAS) ; Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) ; Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) ; Pacific Islands Forum (PIF); Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) ; Southern African Development Community (SADC). Intute.ac.uk
http://www.cris.unu.edu/fileadmin/user_upload/capacity_survey.pdf

Torture and intelligence gathering in Western democracies
This site provides access to the full text of a paper by Calder Walton which was published as History and Policy paper 78 in November 2008. The use of torture during interrogation is a controversial aspect of the 'war against terrorism'. This paper provides an interesting historical perspective on the nature, extent and use of the practice. Topics covered include: British intelligence and the use of torture in the Second World War and the use of toruture against 'communist agents during the Cold War'. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.historyandpolicy.org/papers/policy-paper-78.html

Africa Research Institute
The Africa Research Institute is a UK based centre that aims to draw attention to ideas which have worked in Africa, supporting development and good governance. The Institute does this by organising events and producing research / policy papers on topics such as the fate of Zimbabwe after Mugabe, political turmoil in Kenya and how fertiliser subsidies work in Malawi. The website also includes links to related Internet sites, more details on the make-up and work of the Institute, plus a press room service that features links to stories about Africa abstracted from newspapers and periodicals. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.africaresearchinstitute.org/

http://www.ashinstitute.harvard.edu/

The Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation has the worthy goal to foster "creative and effective government problem-solving." The Institute uses research, education, international programs, and government innovations awards to affect such problem solving. The homepage is divided up into four sections, "Innovations in American Government," "Global Network," "Knowledge Building," and "Teaching and Training." To read some of the publications the Institute puts out, click on "Institute-Wide Publications" at the bottom of the "Knowledge Building" section. Along with the "5 Year Report" and the "2008-2009 Course Guide", "The Ash Institute Resource Guide" and "Communique: Ash Newsletter" are in PDF format here. In the "Innovations in American Government" section on the homepage, clicking on "Innovations News" will lead you to a three-part documentary that shows the presentations of the finalists for the 2008 Innovations Awards in front of the National Selection Committee. Just click on the link to "Part 1, Part 2, Part 3" at the bottom of the 2008 Innovations Winners section. It's sure to have you on pins and needles! [KMG] Scout Report

Global HIV/AIDS Initiatives Network
The Global HIV/AIDS Initiative Network (GHIN) is a network of researchers that explores the effects of Global Health Initiatives on existing health systems. The Network collects evidence of the effects of the initiatives on existing health systems from regions, facilities, services, and communities, in order to inform policy development at national and international level. The website outlines the objectives of GHIN, its key themes, research teams, funding, news, updates and links to related sites. The full-text of relevant reports, journal articles, and conference presentations can be accessed. The GHIN Database provides access to research in three HIV/AIDS Global Health Initiatives (GHIs): the Global Fund, the World Bank's Multi-country AIDS Project (MAP) and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Intute.ac.uk
http://www.ghinet.org/index.htm

World trade indicators
World Trade Indicators (WTI) is produced by the World Bank as part of their trade program. It is an interactive tool designed to benchmark a country’s trade policy and institutions and help policy makers, advisers, and analysts’ identify the main border and behind-the border constraints to trade integration. It is organized in five thematic categories, trade policy, external environment, institutional environment, trade facilitation and trade outcome. Each category contains a main indicator and other reference indicators. Countries’ trade performance can be examined individually as well as in relation to other countries or country groupings, including by membership of trade agreements. Country Briefs and Trade at-a-Glance (TAAG) tables are also are provided. A user guide, overview report, indicator definitions and information on data sources is also provided. Intute.ac.uk
http://go.worldbank.org/3Q2ER38J50

Karl Polanyi Institute of Political Economy

The Karl Polanyi Institute of Political Economy was founded in 1987 and is based at Concordia University, Montréal, Canada. It seeks to encourage dialogue and new intellectual work inspired by the work of Karl Polanyi (1886-1964), author of The Great Transformation, a critique of the philosophical and historical foundations of economics liberalism and technological determinism. The Institute organises public events / lectures and conferences, coordinates European events, encourages research collaborations, produces essays, commentaries and reviews around the life and work of Polanyi and the issues he examined. The website also includes details about the archive of his work, which is housed at the Institute. Intute.ac.uk
http://artsandscience1.concordia.ca/polanyi/

Determine : a European portal for action on health equity
Determine is an EU wide initiative running from 2007-2010 and made up of a consortium of European health organisations. Determine provides a portal site with information on the socio-economic determinants of health inequalities. It provides country profiles for the countries of the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area, with details of, and documents relating to, national health inequalities policies, a good practice database and links to publications, events and relevant EU policies. Determine seeks to identify effective national policy, innovative approaches to improving the health of disadvantaged groups and to develop awareness raising activities. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.health-inequalities.org/

State of food and agriculture
The State of Food and Agriculture is an annual publication from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Each publication is themed to look at a different topic of interest in the debate around the politics and economics of food production and agricultural policies. Subjects covered include: the role of biofuels, farming and the environment, food security, agricultural trade policies, plant pests / animal diseases and rural incomes. A key theme that runs through many of the reports is the relationship between food / agriculture policies in developed countries and their effects on the developing world. The material includes the full report, an executive summary, press releases, presentations and accompanying documents, although the precise make-up of the package of documents varies from year to year. The site is available in a range of languages. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.fao.org/sof/sofa/

United States presidential transition: C-Span resources
This site was created by public service broadcaster C-Span to provide basic information and news about Barack Obama's transition to the American presidency in January 2009. It includes a useful set of video films by historians and government officials explaining the transition process. This includes discussion of legislative, personnel and management issues. Also accessible are some interviews with previous presidents and press releases from Mr Obama and his team. Links are provided to other official American government sites where further information about documents can be found. Copyright and technical information is displayed on the website.
http://www.c-span.org/special/presidential-transition.aspx

 

 Change.Gov: Office of the President Elect
This site was created in the wake of the 2008 American presidential elections to provide public information about the transition of Barack Obama to American president in January 2009. It includes a basic biography of president elect Barack Obama and vice-president elect Joe Biden, new headlines, recent speech transcripts and blog postings providing updates on current events relating to the change in government and background information on the transition and inaugural process. Also accessible are links to resources about presidential inaugurations.
http://change.gov/

Transition resources: Council for Excellence in Government
The Council for Excellence in Government is an indepdent US based research organisation. This section of its website provides access to information on the transition of Barack Obama to American president in January 2009. It includes background information (factsheets, videos) on the presidential transition process, news on the planning and handover process, plus links to reports and other websites relating to it.This includes coverage of some of the economic, social and political issues facing the new president.
http://www.excelgov.org/Other/transition.cfm

Obama's transition to power 2008: PBS newshour resources
This site was created by American broadcaster PBS to provide coverage of the election victory of Barack Obama and his transition to the American presidency in 2009. It provides free access to films of PBS new programmes and discussion series. Also provided are links to the treacher resources section of the website where some associated lesson plans and classroom activities can be found. Copyright and technical information is displayed on the website.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/white_house/transition2008/

 

 White House Transition Project The White House Transition Project is a colaboration between a number of leading US scholars, universities and research bodies (including University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ; James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy; Presidency Research Group of the American Political Science Association and Council for Excellence in Government). Since 1999 it has conducted research into past and present transitions of American presidents. The website provides free access to reports, photographs and papers covering all transitions from 2000 onwards. These include materials relating to the transition of Barack Obama to the presidency in 2009. Full text reports include the institutional memory series which details organisational structures there are also evaluations of the challenges faced by past transitions.The site also hosts a searchable directory of experts on this issue.
http://whitehousetransitionproject.org/

From Intute.ac.uk

http://www.freedomhouse.org

Founded in 1941, Freedom House was organized by prominent Americans who were concerned with mounting threats to peace and democracy. Today, as in previous decades, their mission includes promoting "the growth of freedom by encouraging U.S. policymakers, international institutions, and the governments of established democracies to adopt policies that advance human rights and democracy around the world." First-time visitors may wish to begin by looking to the right-hand side of the homepage to the "Around the World" section. Here visitors can learn about the work that the Freedom House organization is doing in other parts of the world, and more importantly, they can read their in-house reports on democratic movements in different countries. Moving along, the left-hand side of the page includes links to their other publications, which include the "Nations In Transit" series. This particular series takes a long view on political reform in the former Communist states of Europe and Eurasia. To really get a full appreciation of the site's contents and scope requires several visits, but it should have no problem holding the attention of public policy types and scholars. [KMG] Scout Report

International Migration and Human Rights [pdf]

http://www.globalmigrationgroup.org/pdf/Int_Migration_Human_Rights.pdf

The Global Migration Group (GMG) is an inter-agency group that is dedicated to encouraging the "adoption of more coherent, comprehensive and better coordinated approaches to the issue of international migration." Their number includes representatives from UNICEF, the World Bank and various regional commissions from the United Nations. In October 2008, they released this 144-page report in order to commemorate and reflect on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The report is divided into seven sections, including those dealing with the legal framework of migration, globalization and migration trends, migration data, and a concluding chapter which discusses some of the most pressing issues facing different migrant groups around the world. The report also includes three very useful appendices which deal with the policy instruments used in regards to human migration and the adoption of key United Nations legal instruments involved with international migration. [KMG] Scout Report

Sabernomics: Sports Stadiums and Economic Development: A Summary of the Economics Literature
http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2008/05/sports-stadiums-and-economic-development-a-summary-of-the-economics-literature/

The Stadium Gambit and Local Economic Development [pdf]
http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv23n2/coates.pdf

From: In the news, Scout Report

Scribd is proud to announce that Obama for America, the national campaign for Presidential candidate Barack Obama, has created an official Scribd account at http://scribd.com/barackobama. Obama for America will upload selected documents and publications to the account to share with readers, including Barack Obama's Blueprint for Change, Barack's Plan To Support Working Women And Families, and many more!

From Scribd blog:

http://blog.scribd.com/2008/07/obama-for-america-on-scribd.html

Council on Foreign Relations: Democratic Rep. of Congo
Compilation of background and analysis about politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including an October 2008 podcast on "the recent escalation in conflict in eastern Congo," an October 2008 special report outlining a U.S. policy agenda for the Democratic Republic of Congo, opinion pieces on genocide, and related material. From the Council on Foreign Relations.
URL: http://www.cfr.org/region/171/democratic_rep_of_congo.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27074

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MONUC: UN Mission in DR Congo
Background and news from this United Nations (UN) mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo established to "facilitate the implementation of the Lusaka Accord signed in 1999. With a budget exceeding one billion dollars, it is the largest and most expensive mission in the Department of Peace Keeping Operations (DPKO)." News stories are viewable by date or by region or topic (elections, military, human rights). Also includes interviews, photos, and videos.
URL: http://www.monuc.org/Home.aspx?lang=en
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27072

Annotations copyright LII.ORG

The World Food Programme has released its 5 November 2008 summary of high profile emergencies in Hunger's Global Hotspots. The summary includes information on the situations in Afghanistan, Chad, DRC, Cuba, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.

UN Pulse

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Diplomacy Monitor resources
Diplomacy Monitor is maintained by the St Thomas University School of Law. It provides real time tracking of Internet published diplomacy documents worldwide. This includes materials from major international organisations. Materials covered include: press releases, communiques, speeches, statements, papers and reports. This section of the site provides access to materials relating to DRC Congo They include coverage of human rights, humanitarian aid, conflict and security. Materials are available from the EU, US State Department, British government and African Union, among others. Intute.ac.uk
http://diplomacymonitor.com/stu/dm.nsf/nationaffectedd?openform&cat=Democratic_R

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
This site is maintained by humanitarian medical aid charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). It provides free access to information about its work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This includes press releases, maps of deployment, reports and video films. These offer insight into the conflict, humanitarian and refugee crisis and aid programmes in the region. They include eye witness accounts of the violence. Materials date from approximately 2006 onwards. Copyright and technical information is displayed on the website. Intute.ac.uk

http://www.msf.org.uk/drc.focus

Source: OECD

The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 30 democracies work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies.

OECD in Figures 2008 covers the following areas: Demography and health Economy Prices and finance Energy Labour Science and technology Environment Education Public finance International trade and investment.

+ Full Document (PDF; 1.9 MB)

 

Permalink Docuticker

 

 There are two lessons that history and our personal experience teach us. One is that when crises occur, the least responsible are usually the worst affected and the least able to cope. The second is that crises can provide the momentum for reform and radical change. These moments are fleeting and need to be grasped to put arrangements in place that will prevent their recurrence. In today’s globalised world, that means new arrangements that are more effective, efficient and equitable... [More]

http://www.idea.int/vt/

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) has a well-organized and very interesting voter turnout website loaded with election data from around the world. The goal of this Stockholm-based organization is to "strengthen democratic institutions and processes." It works with other democracy builders, such as the UN, policy makers and donor governments. By compiling and analyzing voter turnout statistics since 1945, for national presidential and parliamentary elections, IDEA has discovered that "high voter turnout does not necessarily mean that a multi-party democracy is stable." Check out the link "Why a Voter Turnout Website?" on the homepage to read about the data they used to come to this conclusion. To view the election statistics of any country, click on the drop down box "Choose a Country" on the far right side of the page. Once you pick one, you'll get the country's voting data in a table, or you can click in the upper right hand corner above the table, where it says "Graph," to see it in graph form. On the right hand side of the page, in the same section where you can choose a country's statistics, you can also choose other categories of analysis for which IDEA has data, such as "Voter Turnout by Gender," "Voter Turnout by Age", "Vote Counting Methods", and "Voting by Mail." You can also find a link to their "Publications" in this same section, and you'll find that they have a multitude of publications in multiple languages and formats. Some of the books can be purchased and downloaded in their entirety, or shipped via the mail. Some of the pamphlets are even free of charge, and can be downloaded or shipped as well. [KMG] Scout Report

UN Development Programme (UNDP) issued a new report Post-Conflict Economic Recovery: Enabling Local Ingenuity. According to the report:

Sustainable post-conflict economic recovery requires an environment that assures citizen security, supports inclusive development, provides an adequate infrastructure, protects property and investment from predation, ensures predictable and fair taxes and incentives, and reduces the costs of doing business.

Press-release; Download the report from UNDP website.

 

UN Pulse:  Permanent Link: Post-Conflict Economic Recovery - UNDP report

UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) published Latin America and the Caribbean in the World Economy 2007. Trends 2008 report. It focuses on trends and developments in the regional trade, Doha Round of trade negotiations, globalization and new trends in international trade, integration, trade relations with the European Union and international integration.Download the full text (pdf, 3028 KB) or Executive summary (612 KB)
Press-release

UN Pulse Permanent Link: Latin America and the Caribbean in the World Economy 2007. Trends 2008

The International Labour Organization (ILO) recently issued World of Work 2008: Income inequalities in the age of financial globalization (full text, pdf, 1.4 MB). According to the report, income inequality grew dramatically in most regions of the world over the past decade and is expected to increase due to the current global financial crisis. The cost of the financial and economic crisis will be borne by people who haven’t shared in the benefits of recent growth.

UN Pulse Permanent Link: World of Work 2008