GV Editor's Blog
A look inside the Village...
How Democratic is Your Democracy?
Summary:A new report from the Economist Intelligence Unit says that global democratic growth is stagnating. What's a presumptive middle power to do?
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), one of the most
prudent evaluators of governance, today
released their 2008 'Democracy Index' . In it,
they conclude that after a solid decade of worldwide democratic
expansion, it is now, at best, stagnating.
It is an unsurprising (if disconcerting) claim from the EIU, who are tough but fair in their assessment of what comprises a real, or 'full' to use their term, democracy. For instance, no country in mainland Africa qualifies - even though most would consider [...]
It is an unsurprising (if disconcerting) claim from the EIU, who are tough but fair in their assessment of what comprises a real, or 'full' to use their term, democracy. For instance, no country in mainland Africa qualifies - even though most would consider [...]
Global Citizenship and the Canadian Election
At an all-candidates meeting a couple weeks ago, I had
trouble crafting a pressing question to ask the panel during the
Q&A with the audience. This was troubling - I'm a naturally
curious person and an important part of my job is to be able to ask
intelligent questions. Still, I was stumped. Why?
Living abroad - missing numerous elections back home and enagaging with other interesting political systems - is partly to blame. But more importantly, I hadn't found an issue that resonated with my identity [...]
Living abroad - missing numerous elections back home and enagaging with other interesting political systems - is partly to blame. But more importantly, I hadn't found an issue that resonated with my identity [...]
Canada's Role in Advancing Democracy. Thoughts?
This fall, Governance Village is embarking on a landmark
project with the
Parliamentary Centre International (PCI) to ask
why democratic governance is important to development, and how
Canada can contribute to better governance worldwide.
Through a two-week, thematic e-conference (in early November) and a subsequent roundtable discussion, we will be talking to experts, decision-makers and former parliamentarians about their views on the topic of democratic governance (click here for the opinion of PCI's [...]
Through a two-week, thematic e-conference (in early November) and a subsequent roundtable discussion, we will be talking to experts, decision-makers and former parliamentarians about their views on the topic of democratic governance (click here for the opinion of PCI's [...]
High-Level Forum Gets Down-to-Earth
Summary:The recent High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness proved that civil society groups are gaining a greater voice in the development debate
For anyone who's ever been involved in high-level summits -
as last week's get -together in Ghana cetainly was - the most
interesting delegates are often the civil society groups. Often
without the political and diplomatic shackles of their higher-level
counterparts, they can speak more frankly and truthfully about
sensitive issues.
So much so that they often organize an entirely separate event for themselves.
Last year, at the annual meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), civil [...]
So much so that they often organize an entirely separate event for themselves.
Last year, at the annual meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), civil [...]
Who's Going to Ghana?
Summary:We're looking for people and organizations going to the the OECD High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra from September 2-4
Here at Governance Village, we have been interested in
covering the OECD forum in Accra for some time. Not only is this a
critical time for aid effectiveness, but the fact that it's being
hosted in the developing world may suggest a shift in the way we
think about the ownership of foreign assistance.
As such, in this space the GV news blog will feature content before, during and after the development world comes to Ghana. In an effort to comprehensively cover the pre-conference civil society discussions and [...]
As such, in this space the GV news blog will feature content before, during and after the development world comes to Ghana. In an effort to comprehensively cover the pre-conference civil society discussions and [...]
