Mobilising Social Justice in South Africa - perspectives from Researchers and Practitioners

How do civic actors in South Africa deal with contemporary developmental challenges such as socio-economic inequality, limited access to basic services, xenofobic tensions and governance constraints. At a time of rising social tensions, the country’s institutions are in danger of losing the legitimacy they gained in the wake of democratic dispensations of the 1990s.

Mobilising Social Justice in South Africa - perspectives from Researchers and Practitioners

How do civic actors in South Africa deal with contemporary developmental challenges such as socio-economic inequality, limited access to basic services, xenofobic tensions and governance constraints. At a time of rising social tensions, the country’s institutions are in danger of losing the legitimacy they gained in the wake of democratic dispensations of the 1990s.

Nothing as it Seems

What is the role of external donors in local development and local governance in Ethiopia? ISS-student Ephrem Shiferaw is currently blogging from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reflections and thoughts give us the feeling that there's so much more lurking under the surface of the muddy development-waters. We're looking forward to finding out more about his discoveries in the coming up weeks. The power of community-based organizations/CBO’s It has been three weeks since I started my researc...

Who Cares About Sustainability?

Why is it so hard to sustain the effects of NGO interventions? Agnes Nalubiri explores this question working from the Rwenzori region with Hivos’ partner KRC. The emerging findings in a messy context suggest that a toxic mix of aid chain dynamics is at work.

Southern Perspectives on Civil Society Building

Civil Society Building continues to figure prominently in the development policy realm and so too does its northern bias, especially with regard to processes in Africa. Through the MA-research facility, the Hivos/ISS Civil Society Knowledge programme enables researchers and civil society organizations from the South to develop and share their views on key issues in the Civil Society Debate.

Seizing and Stretching Participatory Space: Civil Society Participation in Tanzania’s Policy Processes

Civil society participation in PRSP processes has become part and parcel of modern aid modities. Assumed benefits include stronger checks and balances, inclusion of marginalized interests, and a broader support base for implementation. This hints at transformative potential. Yet, where governments or donors drive the process, participation hardly ever surpasses a mere consultative role and risks of cooption loom large.

Framing and Claiming Reproductive Rights: A Case Study of Civil Society Actors in Tanzania

How do grassroots organizations engage with, understand and use human rights discourses? In the current development context many civil society actors have adopted a ‘rights based approach’ (RBA). However, ‘human rights’ are often articulated at the international level, but understood, experienced and practiced in a local context. What does this dynamic imply for the way local civil society actors lobby the state to implement global human rights at a national policy level?

Ugandans search for common ground in run-up to 2011 elections

´Ugandans have been too engrossed with our differences. We have a history of tribalism that manifest itself in the idea that one has to create strong tribal entities that are able to dominate the othes. We must accept plurality as a fact and a gift and identify the common ground. This is a challenge for our political leadership, but also for each of us here.´ Key note speaker Bisshop Zac Niringiye conveyed this message to the participants of the pluralism knowledge programme conference in Ka...

Lies or stories?

Lies or stories?Is there so much as a routine, when you're doing field research in Northern Uganda? Follow Marjoke in this new blog on her visits to the villages of Kitgum district.

Why bother to work on governance

Marjoke Oosterom (Institute of Development Studies, UK) carries out her PhD research on civic participation in local government structures in Northern Uganda. In 2010, she will do her field research in the districts Kitgum and Apac. In this blog she tells about her experiences based on interviews carried out in the capital and in Gulu and Kitgum districts.