Observing or participating in regime change? Kyrgyz perspectives on the role of international election observation missions in 2005

- This report offers an in-dept analysis of the role of international election observation missions in during the political upheavals in Kyrgyzstan in 2005. It presents the work of three leading, young academics from Kyrgyzstan. The report forms part of the ‘NUPI Network for Election Observation and Exchange’. This is project that is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The starting point for the assessments presented here is the realisation that international election observer missions played a central part in the events that eventually lead to the toppling of President Askar Akaev’s administration in march 2005. Kyrgyzstan is also a case that highlights the immense chal…

Ethical Considerations in Crowdfunding

AbstractThe current chapter addresses ethical issues in crowdfunding practice from a multiple stakeholder perspective. It draws on ethical principles outlined in both classical and business-specific approaches. The discussion first presents classical approaches to ethical decision making. It then discusses whether crowdfunding presents an ethical solution or a source of ethical problems. Later, it suggests a framework presenting a classification of potential ethical dilemmas and pitfalls in crowdfunding practice, as well as potential means for addressing them. The discussion concludes with concrete implications for crowdfunding ethics research and practice.

The political economy of Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR)

- Selective literature review and preliminary agenda for research: Recent insights on war economies have important implications for disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR). This paper identifies an underlying dilemma of DDR: on the one hand, in order to convince warring factions to commit to peace, DDR strategies will have to offer significant incentives that in turn may entrench the factions’ economic and political standing. On the other hand, offering the armed factions important peacetime roles may jeopardise post-war economic reconstruction, perpetuate cycles of underdevelopment and risk entrenching instability. It is argued in the paper that while more insights are needed o…

Towards a theory of ex-combatant reintegration

This paper encourages the development of a theoretical framework for the study of the reintegration of ex-combatants after war. It takes the first steps towards this by proposing a new definition of reintegration, where the processes ex-combatants experience, rather than the programmatic support offered by international and national agencies, take centre stage. The article links the study of reintegration to two broader disciplines; political economy and sociology, and in particular to the two disciplines’ account of power and group belonging. It argues that a political economy approach is particularly useful for making sense of the context in which reintegration processes unfold. The artic…

Early investments in fragile states: a role for Norfund?

Norfund

Higher Education in a Sustainable Society: Addressing Knowledge Disparities and Enabling Debate

Sustainability is a comprehensive concept. It addresses the complex relation between and effect of social and economic development. It is a concept that challenges us to see things in relation to each other and in a larger perspective. The sustainability challenge however, comes at a time when sciences and research has expanded but at the same time is more fragmented than ever. In this chapter we introduce Mutual Competence Building a concept for guiding the sustainability engagement of Higher Education.

Diplomatisk hodebry: internasjonale reaksjoner på kontroversielle avgjørelser i norsk barnevern

Agder as Mutual Competence Builders: Developing Sustainability as a Competitive Advantage

In this chapter, Agder as Mutual Competence Builders: developing sustainability as a competitive advantage, Karen Landmark, Marianne Rodvelt and Stina Torjesen provide a discussion of companies in the Agder region which are organised in the Eyde-network, and how they have developed a common sustainability agenda in co-operation with the university. The chapter shows how this is followed up by organising an Eyde-school as vocational training in co-operation with the university.

The Challenge of Mutual Competence Building

Mutual Competence Building has emerged as a key concept when working on this book with our colleagues at the University of Agder. In this conclusion we develop and explore the concept further in relation to sustainability. Our point of departure is the definition we presented in the introduction: mutual competence building is a conversation between scholars and societal and work life partner organisations about what sustainability, and efforts to create a sustainable society, might entail for distinct sectors.

China in Pakistan and the wider region: A cautious but effective leader?

This article assesses China–Pakistan-Afghanistan relations in the period 2014–2018 and asks whether China has exercised distinct pressure on Pakistan to be a more constructive partner for Afghanistan. A central argument is that even as China has failed to alter Pakistan’s policies significantly in the short term it is still continuing to successfully build power and trust in Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as with their neighbours to the north and west. This bodes well for China’s exercise of regional leadership in a long-term perspective.

The battle for Azerbaijan : Azeri Perspectives on the Observation of the 2005 Parliamentary Elections and the Post-Election Period

- This report seeks to highlight the role of international observer missions of the 9 November 2005 parliamentary election in Azerbaijan. It also presents in-depth assessments of the pre- and post-election situation in the country. The six articles that are presented in the volume have been produced by leading scholars or development practitioners in Azerbaijan. The report forms part of the ‘Network for Election Observation and Exchange’. This is project that is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Making sense of crises: the implications of information asymmetries for resilience and social justice in disaster-ridden communities

New information and communication technologies (ICT) have enabled communities to collect and share information and tap into a network of peers in unprecedented ways. For more than a decade, informa...