Development Blogs.com

I recently had the privilege of being on a panel at the United States Institute of Peace on “Promoting Business and Peace in Conflict-Affected Countries.” Let me share with you the summary points of my presentation there. Although security and humanitarian needs naturally predominate in the early months of reconstruction, it is never too early to start listening to the voices of local businesspeople. The private sector matters because it creates jobs, crosses ethnic and political boundaries, and sustains civil society. Listening to the private sector’s views is essential to building a framework of governance, markets, and sound economic policies that will support development and sustainable peace. Economic solutions that do not incorporate these views will be...

Hamid Karzai’s presidency seems to be failing, and some polls show that his support is flagging. Karzai is perceived to be ineffective in reducing corruption weak on the Taliban, and making moves that question his democratic credentials. Several Afghans I spoke to in Kabul believe that the Taliban attack against a military parade on April 27 marked a turning point in public opinion against Karzai as he made the culturally unacceptable decision to flee the scene rather than lead his security forces. The result was a chaotic scene and there is much talk here in Kabul about firing those high officials in charge of security. The Taliban have claimed that they purposely spared Karzai’s life, and this would appear to be true as a sniper could have easily killed the president from the...

Last week, we released the findings of yet another CIPE survey of the Iraqi business community.  Why such a survey?  Well, if you are going to do anything related to the economic rebuilding of the country shouldn’t you have an idea of what the private sector thinks?  It helps to know business views because it is the private sector that must ultimately attract investment, create jobs, provide products and services, pay taxes, and become a key player in facilitating political stability. So, working with our local partners, we went out and polled 1,630 Iraqi business owners. The sample was selected randomly from the registers of various Iraqi chambers of commerce and the Iraqi Businessmen Union. Although it is difficult task as one might imagine, we tried to cover the whole country...

Last week’s suicide bombing in Afghanistan, the deadliest in years, was devastating for many.  We lost several of our friends and partners, whom we’ve gotten to know as individuals committed to building democratic governance, shaping the market economy, and promoting genuine reforms in Afghanistan.  Soon after arriving in Kabul in July 2004, I found myself in a certain kind of solitude, tasked with proving oversight for the formation of the leadership of the nascent Afghanistan International Chamber of Commerce (AICC) with which CIPE was working at that time to transform from a concept to a bona fide reality. The undertaking was not insignificant; especially considering that in the making was the first truly nationwide independent business association in the country’s...

Addressing Internal Displacement in Peace Processes, Peace Agreements and Peace-Building (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Sept. 2007) [text] Developing Media in Stabilization and Reconstruction Operations (USIP, Oct. 2007) [text] Exiled and Suffering: Palestinian refugees in Lebanon (Amnesty International, Oct. 2007) [text] Human Rights Report, 1 April to 30 June 2007 (UN...

Dealing with the Past in Post-Conflict Societies: Ten Years after the Peace Accords - in Guatemala and Bosnia-Herzegovina (Swiss Peace Annual Conference, Sept. 2007) [text via ReliefWeb] Determining the Best Interests of Unaccompanied and Separated Children: Lessons from Guinea (International Rescue Committee, Sept. 2007) [text via ReliefWeb] "Drug Donations in Emergencies, the Sri Lankan...

Asylum Disparities Persist, Regardless of Court Location and Nationality (TRAC, Sept. 2007) [text] The building blocks of sustainable peace: The views of internally displaced people in Northern Uganda, Oxfam Briefing Paper 106 (Sept. 2007) [text] Civilians in the way of conflict: Displaced people in Sri Lanka (IDMC, Sept. 2007) [text]Getting the Policies Right: The Prioritization and Sequencing...