ISE Newsletter 4th Quarter 2009
Dear ISE Member,
2009 has been a busy year for ISE and we are pleased to share a sampling of our work and successes over the course of the last few months.
Contributions to Global Policy Dialogue
ISE has continued to engage in global policy dialogue regarding state fragility and effectiveness, and the dynamics of globalization, through a variety of activities. Dr.Ghani and Clare Lockhart participated as members of the Global Agenda Council on Fragile States at the World Economic Forum, and ISE is delighted that their framework for National Accountability Systems and National Programs was adopted by the council to be put forward to the WEF meeting in 2010. During 2009, ISE also contributed to US Government Policy reviews in the Central Asia region, and to the forthcoming World Bank World Development Report for Afghanistan. ISE engagement and dialogue with the Foundation community continued, including through briefings at the Peace and Security Funder's Group Annual Meeting, the Rockefeller foundation and the MacArthur foundation.
Country Work
The Rapid Reaction Facility has enabled ISE to provide analysis for a range of countries through in-country review of the situation and facilitations with government officials, civil society and business leaders, as well as providing deeper engagement where requested. For example, in Nepal, ISE continues to provide support to the government and political process. In Sierra Leone, ISE conducted a stakeholder review of governance and market institutions. ISE looks forward to releasing findings from their country work in 2010.
Country Transitions
ISE continues to map examples of countries that have made successful transitions to stability and prosperity, and to codify lessons from such transitions. Ongoing work in Chile, Lithuania, Poland, Singapore, Spain and Turkey is yielding exciting insights and learning. Upon completion, these studies will be collected and published in an edited volume.
Training
ISE has conducted research into handbooks on the building of state functions in challenging contexts. Its first handbook, on the "how to" of designing and implementing community programs will be available to members shortly, and several others – including on National Accountability Systems, Security, and Administration – are in progress and will be available in 2010.ISE taught its first pilot course on Governance - balancing state, market and civil society, at the Aspen Institute and received positive feedback. ISE also collaborated with the Center for American Progress in designing and running a simulation exercise to assess US capabilities to stabilize countries in crisis. Using Afghanistan as the context, the simulation tested the viability of proposed policy ideas against current constraints, to determine the implications and effectiveness of available tools and proposed policy alterations. In partnership with the World Bank Institute, ISE has been developing concepts and training modules to support leadership in challenging environments.
An ISE team also provided briefing to Canadian Officers ahead of deployment in Afghanistan, highlighting successes, such as the trust funds and national programs, and how their work can reinforce success.
Market-Building Initiative and Core Economic Group
Established as a joint program between ISE and the Aspen Institute, the Market Building Initiative (MBI), is working to develop a pragmatic yet conceptually grounded basis of ideas for building markets and sustainable economic opportunity in fragile states. To this end, the Core Economic Group convenes a small team of experts on private sector and market-building issues to consider and develop means to lay the foundations for job creation and growth. The group conducted analysis and evaluation of the private sector and markets in Afghanistan and Nepal to identify key areas for support and entry points for change.Other processes
ISE also contributed conceptual thinking and specific inputs to a
number of processes, including ongoing OECD-Development Assistance
Committee activities, the International Institute for Security
Studies' Manama Security Dialogue, and the Aspen Strategy Group. ISE participated in discussion at the Asia Society, the Atlantic Council, the Tallberg Forum, the United States Institute for Peace and the World Justice Forum and in the UK took part in the Sunday Times Literary Festival in Oxford and the Guardian Activate Summit in London. ISE
visited Norway to discuss state and market-building approaches with
government and civil society representatives, including the Norwegian
Institute for International Affairs and the Norwegian Atlantic
Committee.
Contributions and Thanks
This work would not be possible without the generosity of our supporters. We would particularly like to thank the following organizations: Aspen Institute, Australian Government Overseas Aid Program (AusAID), Carnegie Corporation of New York, Compton Foundation, United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfID), Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), Open Society Institute (OSI), Paul Singer Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund. ISE continues to depend upon the generosity of donors. To donate, please visit the ISE website or contact us directly.
ISE in the Media
ISE has attempted to stimulate public debate on the need for effective and accountable governance through commentary and analysis across print, radio, television and internet media in North America, Europe, Africa and Central Asia.
ISE opinion editorials and articles appeared in Foreign Policy, the Guardian, the National Interest, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and a recent piece in The London Times that sparked a positive response from Mr. Omar Sharmarke, Prime Minister, Transitional Federal Government of Somalia.
Ashraf Ghani and Clare Lockhart were honored to be named number 20 in the list of "Top 100 Global Thinkers" for 2009 by Foreign Policy.
Fixing Failed States
The paperback edition of Fixing Failed States was published in 2009 by Oxford University Press.
