south sudan. state building should be… endogenous development (from within) and should involved…...
TRANSCRIPT
South Sudan
State building should be…
• Endogenous development (from within)
And should involved…• State-society bargaining to build more
effective, legitimate and resilient states
• Not about transferring institutional models but…• …local political processes which create public
institutions and generate their legitimacy in the eyes of a state’s population
In reality…
• Donor managerialism…• …& its quest for rapid modernisation of South
Sudan’s fragile state… • …diverts scarce resources…• …into unhelpful ideological battles
2005 CPA period starts 2011 IndependenceReferendum
Modernising forces – donor supported/driven SPLA Act Police Act Criminal Code
etc
SPLA/SPLM
GoSS
Elections
RSS
Emphasis on formal institutions, laws, etc Focu
s on in
dividuals
Modernisation through workshops
• Who could turn down:– ‘enhance development practitioners’ facilitation skills for
the capacity-building of gender-disadvantaged women’?• Everyone likes the rules of the game – but what are
they? – and for whose game?• And if there appear to be no rules, let’s introduce
them: – Criminal Code– Police Act– Penal Code– SPLA Act
And if something’s missing…?
• ‘We look at it and we say what is needed and we provide it….’
– E.g. Joint Operations Centres in all states
• ‘…Instead, we should come in and ask what is working.’
2005 CPA period starts 2011 IndependenceReferendum
Modernising forces – donor supported/driven SPLA Act Police Act Criminal Code
etc
SPLA/SPLM
GoSS
Elections
RSS
Emphasis on formal institutions, laws, etc Focu
s on in
dividuals
Customary law/Cultural practice (local)
Violent hinterland
Traditional chiefs/Local authorities
Counties; Payams; Bomas
Dynamic
Emphasis on negotiation; compromise; restoration
The group matters
Alcohol
Youth violence
Gender roles
Land use
EducationFactors and Trends
Violence
Trauma Food security
Key choices & clashes
Resistance to OECD ideology…• OECD ‘normative state’:
– ‘the way you did it in the west is the way you want everyone to do it – but in a fraction of the time’
– ‘you want a ‘right-sized’ army but a big army is how we keep everything in balance’
• Multi-party democracy– ‘you want one party per tribe? Chaos’
• Duty bearers & rights holders, civil society holding government to account – ‘you think government is bad, and everyone else good’
• Gender Equality – – ‘you want two commanders in the household and that doesn’t work.’
SPLM counter ideology emerging…
• New rules – generated by SPLM– The Draft NGO Act (curbing external service providers)– Draft Civic Engagement Act (curbing externally supported
human rights work)– Others to come? (anti-terrorism, media limitations, anti-
homosexuality, tax & land?)– ‘Gender’ terminology banned; ‘women’ ok
• Distraction from own process of society-state bargaining
Donor response to Political Economy Analysis
• ‘Interesting but it doesn’t really change anything does it?’ (UK)
• ‘You shouldn’t be wasting your time doing this kind of thinking…’ (US)
2005 CPA period starts 2011 IndependenceReferendum
Modernising forces – donor supported/driven SPLA Act Police Act Criminal Code
etc
SPLA/SPLM
GoSS
Elections
RSS
Emphasis on formal institutions, laws, etc Focu
s on in
dividuals
Customary law/Cultural practice (local)
Violent hinterland
Traditional chiefs/Local authorities
Counties; Payams; Bomas
Dynamic
Emphasis on negotiation; compromise; restoration
The group matters
Alcohol
Youth violence
Gender roles
Land use
EducationFactors and Trends
Violence
Trauma Food security
Key choices & clashes
Informal/Non-formal web of relationships
which affect all decisions
7 Guiding Principles (from Ethiopia)
1. Prioritising the hardest-to-reach civil society and citizens2. Focussing on people and on their capabilities and assets
and traditions, not undermining these strengths3. Building trust4. Incentivising innovation & creativity5. Social equality6. Promoting decision-making at the most local level possible7. Achieving best value for resources for poor people
• Aim for more incremental convergence of modern & customary
• Invest in people and processes that facilitate convergence – rather than fuel the ‘stand off’
• Find language which is based on commonly accepted principles, rather than contested
2005 CPA period starts 2011 IndependenceReferendum
Modernising forces – donor supported/driven SPLA Act Police Act Criminal Code
etc
SPLA/SPLM
GoSS
Elections
RSS
Emphasis on formal institutions, laws, etc Focu
s on in
dividuals
Customary law/Cultural practice (local)
Violent hinterland
Traditional chiefs/Local authorities
Counties; Payams; Bomas
Dynamic
Emphasis on negotiation; compromise; restoration
The group matters
Alcohol
Youth violence
Gender roles
Land use
EducationFactors and Trends
Violence
Trauma Food security
Key choices & clashes
Informal/Non-formal web of relationships
which affect all decisions
Convergence