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Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
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Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
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March 3, 2010Three Cheers for Colombian Court’s Upholding Presidential Term LimitsPosted by Michael Clemens in News Tags: DemocracyOn Friday the Constitutional Court of Colombia ruled that President Alvaro Uribe cannot change the constitution (again) to seek an additional term as president. This is a victory for Colombia’s long-term development, regardless of how good a president Uribe is. It is an example to the entire developing world. Last year I worried that Colombia would fall into the same trap that so many other developing countries have—endlessly changing the constitution to keep popular leaders in office. So many countries have done this that it would not be an exaggeration to call it a plague. In Africa alone, it has happened twelve times in the past decade. Colombia deserves better. I lived in Colombia and love the country, and I want it to realize its vast potential. Read More… 3 Comments »February 19, 2010Despite Coup in Niger, Wrong Time to Yank Humanitarian AssistancePosted by Jenny Aker in Global Development Tags: Democracy
photo by edoug / CC BY-SA 2.0
On February 18, 2010, gunfire broke out around the Presidential Palace in Niger. According to most recent reports, President Mamadou Tandja and his cabinet are in captivity, and a military group, the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (SCRD), has seized power to “make Niger an example of democracy and good governance.” Niger has been here before. With 85 percent of the population living on less than USD$2 per day, Niger is the lowest-ranked country on the UN’s Human Development Index (HDI). This landlocked Sahelian country has a long history of political instability, military rule and coup d’etats, two of which took place in the 1990s. After the coup in April 1999, the military leadership quickly moved to undertake democratic elections, bringing President Tandja to power. Read More… 5 Comments »January 5, 2010After the Plane Bomber, Where in the World is Nigeria’s President?Posted by Todd Moss in Africa, Governance/Democracy Tags: Africa, Democracy, Governance, NigeriaThis entry was also posted on the Huffington Post, AllAfrica, and Sahara Reporters.
14 Comments »July 10, 2009Déjà Coup and the Forgotten “Autogolpe”Posted by Kimberly Ann Elliott in Global Development, Regions Tags: Coup, Democracy, GovernanceThis blog entry also appeared on the Huffington Post. Adam Thomson, in today’s Financial Times, writes of the coup in Honduras as an echo of 1980s violence in Central America. But, in fact, the past is not as distant as much of the coverage of the coup suggests and the seemingly forgotten autogolpe, or “self coup” in Guatemala in 1993 may offer some lessons for today. Comment »July 6, 2009Honduras: Walks Like a Coup, Quacks Like a Coup, But Not Officially Called a Coup?Posted by Sheila Herrling in Global Development Tags: Coup, Democracy, Governance, Latin AmericaOn June 28, after months of tension over Honduran President Manuel Zelaya’s plan to lift presidential term limits, armed soldiers hauled him in his pajamas out of his home and put him on a plane to Costa Rica. Looks like a coup to me. Later that day the Honduran Congress voted to remove Zelaya and swear in Roberto Micheletti, head of the Congress, as the new civilian president. Even so, it still sounds like a coup to me. So, all the news stories call it a coup. President Obama called it a coup. The OAS called it a coup in their official statement suspending Honduras’ membership from the regional organization. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the situation has “evolved into a coup.” Read More… 1 Comment »July 6, 2009Obama Right to Highlight Ghana’s Success, But Will Oil Be the Spoiler?Posted by Todd Moss in Global Development Tags: Corruption, Democracy, Ghana, Governance, Natural Resources, Oil
6 Comments »May 26, 2009Nuhu Ribadu, Nigerian Corruption Fighter, in the HousePosted by Lawrence MacDonald in Global Development Tags: Corruption, Democracy, Governance, Natural Resources, NigeriaNuhu Ribadu, the former anti-corruption czar of Nigeria, is no longer on the job, but is still fighting the good fight. Nuhu was profiled in the Washington Post Outlook section, and explained why corruption “is the reason why Africa is Africa today.” Nuhu also testified to the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services late last week.
Read the full testimony here. Nuhu is now also in our house: We are honored to have Nuhu as a visiting fellow here at CGD. He will be spending the reminder of this year drawing lessons from his experience for other countries and for agencies like the World Bank. His work will build on our past research on corruption, including Ted Moran’s Combating Corrupt Payments. (Also, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala gave the 2007 Sabot Lecture on corruption, presciently calling our attention to the scourge of “political corruption.”) Comment »May 21, 2009Don’t Do It, Colombia! Presidential Term Limits Are Good for Development, But EndangeredPosted by Michael Clemens in Global Development, Poverty, Regions Tags: Bolivia, Democracy, Eastern Europe/Russia, PovertyHow long should presidents rule? On Tuesday, Colombia’s senate approved a national referendum to amend the constitution—again—to allow the popular president Alvaro Uribe to stand for election next year to yet another term in office. Read More… 2 Comments » |
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