Latest Resources
Framework: Global Best Practices - A Model Annual State of the Parliament Report
Framework, Justice, Parliament, Civil SocietyAuthors/Editors: Keith Henderson The objective of this working white paper is to present a strategic monitoring and reporting framework that can be used by all stakeholders to ensure that parliaments have the capacity, independence and support necessary to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities to both the government and the people they are supposed to represent. This paper is primarily...
Strengthening Parliamentary Accountability, Citizen Engagement and Access to Information - Global Survey of Parliamentary Monitoring Organizations
Parliament, Report, Inter-Governmental Organization, Civil SocietyDuring the past decade, parliaments have received increasing attention from the international development community. Citizens and civil society organizations have also realized the importance – or, in some instances, the potential importance – of parliaments to democratic governance, due to their roles in lawmaking, conducting executive oversight, and representing citizens and ...
State of the Union Ghana Report 2010
Africa, Civil Society, Corruption, Democracy, Justice, Local Governance and Decentralization, Parliament, Report, Civil SocietyProduced by the State of the Union project, this 2010 report is one of ten country studies that assess the performance of Member States against key governance, economic, social, civil and political policy standards, and rights instruments. Although a historical approach has been used, the period under review is 2007-2009. Further details on the methodology can be found in the appendices...
GNU Watch - A Year in Review
Africa, Parliament, Political Parties, Report, Civil SocietyThe Zimbabwe GNU Watch provides an overview, month by month, of political developments under the terms set out in the Global Political Agreement (GPA). The sections profiled in monthly outputs may vary depending on events and issues raised in that particular report. Where possible, the relevant article as stipulated in the GPA has been provided. As this documentation began in April, there may at...
Consolidating democratic governance in the SADC Region: Swaziland
Africa, Democracy, Parliament, Report, Civil SocietySwaziland remains the only state in SADC with sovereign monarchical powers. It is a unitary state country with minimal involvement of citizens on the socio-economic issues and on other matters of interest to them The structures instituted for people’s participation at regional level are not yet workable due to constraints of minimal understanding of the...
Benin and the African Peer Review Mechanism: consolidating democratic achievements
Africa, Civil Society, Democracy, Parliament, Report, Civil SocietyThis report offers an independent review of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process of governance in Benin. It presents the most important stages in the process from the time Benin signed the APRM MoU until the presentation of the report. It reviews problems faced and the strong points of the process. It considers whether the presentation of the report to the...
Resource dependence and budget transparency
Global Index, Parliament, Public Administration, Civil SocietyThis paper analyses the results of the Open Budget Survey 2008 - an evaluation of budget transparency in 85 countries. The authors highlight a number of issues including: Budgets are less transparent in oil-dependent countries: poor performance of resource dependent countries is largely driven by the lack of budget transparency and accountability. The...
Engaging with Parliaments: advice to civil society
Africa, Civil Society, Parliament, Users' Guide, Civil SocietyThis paper provides concrete suggestions that will assist well-informed civil society leaders who wish to influence their own parliaments to achieve legislative and social change. The challenges and best practices highlighted in this paper are based on the author’s work advising and training more than 120 civil society organisations in the Balkans, Middle...
Toward the Development of International Standards for Democratic Legislatures
Article / Working Paper, Parliament, Civil SocietyPrepared by the National Democratic Institute (NDI), this document is intended as a basis for discussion within the international community regarding standards for the functioning of democratic legislatures. The standards set forth in this document are intended to apply to all national legislatures, whether they are known as a parliament, a congress or a national assembly....
Managing the Crisis: A Comparative Analysis of Economic Governance in 14 Countries
Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Civil Society, Europe and CIS, Latin America and the Carribean, Parliament, Report, Academic/Think Tank, Civil SocietyThe study evaluates the quality of political decision-making in response to the global financial and economic crisis in advanced economies such as Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the UnitedStates, as well as in the emerging economies of Brazil, Chile, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey. Based on 14 detailed country...