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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social work > Aid & relief programmes
In the past two decades, the international community has shown an increased proclivity to engage in programmes of post-conflict reconstruction in the aftermath of wars. During the same period, increased globalisation has meant that multinational companies have grown greatly in size and influence and have begun to challenge existing notions of governance at a global level. Here Peter Davis explores the reconstruction processes that have taken place in Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Rwanda. Based on extensive field work as well as existing literature, this book plots the recovery of these countries from conflict, and examines in detail the role that international companies have played in that process. The book also explores how companies impacts on reconstruction are governed, both by the companies themselves, and by the host government and international agencies managing the rebuilding process.
Strong financial management skills are essential to promote high program standards in international development organizations. Many non-finance people find numbers and financial techniques difficult, and some just give up or expect someone else to handle them. However, NGO managers and other staff are responsible for sound financial management and without full understanding their programs will be, at best, less effective, and, at worst, vulnerable to going unfunded.To help avoid these problems, many development agencies provide financial training for their non-finance staff, and also their partners. But just providing more skills training does not address all the issues. Poor communication about financial information, by both finance and non-finance people, often seems to cause a block. This book helps people speak and write better financial information, avoiding jargon, and preventing their listeners from switching off. It explains why messages about finance may not be received as they were intended when working cross-culturally and outlines how information can be tailored to different audiences. It outlines how to design training sessions that improve understanding and collaboration between finance and non-finance people, including partner organizations, trustees, and staff."Communicating Financial Management to Non- Finance People" should be read by non-finance and finance managers and staff within nonprofit organizations internationally, as well as other organizations.
The Magarini Settlement Project in Kenya is typical of many large Third World rural development projects of recent years, not least in its failure to fulfil even minimum goals. First published in 1991, Development in Practice explores the reasons for this projects failure, and looks at the lessons to be learned from this experience for development in general. Challenging many assumptions and approaches, its provocative conclusions will generate much interest amongst development practitioners.
This resource uses primary documents and contextualizing essays to illuminate how America's presidents have responded to major tests of their leadership and approached their role and responsibilities in times of national crisis. Presidents hold the attention of the public like no other political actor. In addition, because of their unique role in the constitutional system, presidents often take immediate, unilateral action in the face of national emergencies. Exploring key events, crises, and disasters through the lens of presidential responsiveness, this text reveals not only the larger historical context but also the authority of presidents in meeting the "felt necessities of the time," deepening readers' understanding of those touchstone events. Comprehensive in temporal and topical scope, the book covers crises and disasters from the presidency of George Washington through Donald Trump's first two years in office. Important events covered include natural disasters, wars, assassinations, terrorist attacks, mass shootings, economic crises, riots, tragedies, and political scandals. Each event is explored through a primary document that reveals key dimensions of the presidential response to the crisis or disaster in question and contextual headnotes and essays that provide additional insights into the political, economic, and cultural contexts in which that event occurred and to which the president responded. Provides readers with an understanding of the dynamics that shaped presidential responses to crises and disasters in American history Allows readers to hear directly from presidents during times of national crisis, uncertainty, and mourning through primary documents Provides important information about the circumstances and settings in which the presidents made their statements to the American people (and the wider world) in contextual headnotes for each primary source Contextualizes the extent and limits of presidential authority and influence in times of national crisis, scandal, disaster, or tragedy in introductory essays from the author
The prime purpose of Oxfam and similar development agencies is to assist poor men and women in changing their situation and exercising their right to participate in the development of their societies. However, aid agencies that ignore peoples existing strengths may create dependency, and so make people more vulnerable than before. This book examines the concept of capacity-building and why it is such an integral part of development. It considers specific and practical ways in which NGOs can contribute to enabling people to build on the capacities they already possess, while avoiding undermining such capacities."Capacity-Building" reviews the types of social organization with which NGOs might consider working, and the provision of training in a variety of skills and activities, for the people involved and for their organization. The particular importance of using a capacity-building approach in emergency situations, and the dynamic and long-term nature of the process, are emphasized.
This book examines the sociological consequences of disaster relief and recovery, and uncovers its impact on the communities that were affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. It is the most extensive and intensive study of post-disaster community rebuilding yet reported in the literature on the subject. The authors draw on this research to develop a three-phase strategy for moving from quick and effective relief to long-term social recovery work. While there have been many big natural disasters since then, none have affected so many local communities spread over so many nations and none have evoked the same kind of global response. A great deal of post-tsunami recovery work was done in India and Sri Lanka, with more than 500 international aid and humanitarian agencies involved in Sri Lanka alone - many with little experience in long-term community development. This book argues that international aid agencies must work patiently to put in place meaningful partnerships with local, community-based organisations as soon as long-term physical and social planning becomes possible. The authors explain that such an approach could help address some pre-existing vulnerabilities in disaster-affected communities. They argue that it is much easier to rebuild damaged infrastructure than to rebuild shattered lives, and to ensure that traumatised communities are not put under new stresses and strains, the 'fault-lines' within these communities need to be lessened.
Natural disasters that have struck Asian countries in recent years have brought global attention to the work of local Buddhist communities and international humanitarian groups operating on Buddhist principles. Buddhist monks and nuns, even in the most conservative tradition, have engaged with survivors and families of the deceased in difficult contexts and are making active contribution to the development of civil society. Contributors of this volume have conducted research in India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Cambodia and examine both local Buddhist communities and international organizations engaged in a variety of relief work in China, Taiwan and Japan. They explore the variety of ways in which Buddhist traditions and organizations are being reconstructed through local and international aid work in ways more engaged with and more relevant to human problems in the contemporary world.
This book offers a concise and detailed analysis of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) foreign aid as a main instrument in its foreign policy. Exploring the cultural factors that have impacted on the foreign policy behaviour of the UAE and its foreign aid, the author argues that Arabism and Islamic traditions have shaped the country 's foreign policy in general and foreign aid in particular. Examining in depth the motives and purposes of this large aid program through the lens of International Relations theories (mainly Constructivism and Rationalism), the book details the UAE 's foreign policy and aid program since its inception. Drawing on a comprehensive analysis of two major recipients of aid from the UAE Palestine and Pakistan the focus moves beyond the UAE to show how cultural factors have impacted on the behaviour of the authorities across the wider Arab Middle East. This critical assessment and analysis of the UAE 's foreign policy will be of particular interest to students, researchers and academics interested in Middle East studies, the Gulf States, Middle East politics, and foreign aid and foreign policy.
"Ending Hunger Worldwide" challenges the naive notion that everyone wants hunger to end. Hunger ensures that employers make good profits and consumers enjoy cheap goods. Most of the hungry are far away. Those who are well-off have little interest in ending hunger. Action to end it has not matched the talk about it because those who have the power to end the problem are not the ones who have the problem. The powerful care about hunger, but not enough.Hunger analysts typically focus on agriculture yields and interventions with capsules and supplements. They rarely acknowledge that hunger is a deeply social issue that is shaped by the ways in which people treat each other. The central concept that drives the book is that in strong communities, people don t go hungry.Strong communities have high levels of concern about one another s well-being. People may provide food to one another when that is necessary, but more fundamentally, they ensure that all have decent opportunities to provide for themselves. Given decent opportunities, people will not allow themselves or their families to go hungry. There is no shortage of food in the world; there is a shortage of opportunities. People who have decent opportunities either to produce food or to earn money to purchase food will manage to provide for themselves and their families."Ending Hunger Worldwide" argues that if people do not care enough about other people s well-being, there is little prospect for ending hunger in the world. Strengthening communities by building care certainly would not be an easy route to ending hunger. The argument for this approach is that it is true to the realities of the hunger problem. Without adequate caring, the many things that could be done to end hunger will not get done."
The Magarini Settlement Project in Kenya is typical of many large Third World rural development projects of recent years, not least in its failure to fulfil even minimum goals. First published in 1991, Development in Practice explores the reasons for this projects failure, and looks at the lessons to be learned from this experience for development in general. Challenging many assumptions and approaches, its provocative conclusions will generate much interest amongst development practitioners.
This book describes how NGOs' efforts to promote sustainable development are affected by their funding, management strategies, and relationships with government, communities, and other NGOs. The authors explore implications for theory and offer suggestions for increasing NGO effectiveness.
"Ending Hunger Worldwide" challenges the naive notion that everyone wants hunger to end. Hunger ensures that employers make good profits and consumers enjoy cheap goods. Most of the hungry are far away. Those who are well-off have little interest in ending hunger. Action to end it has not matched the talk about it because those who have the power to end the problem are not the ones who have the problem. The powerful care about hunger, but not enough.Hunger analysts typically focus on agriculture yields and interventions with capsules and supplements. They rarely acknowledge that hunger is a deeply social issue that is shaped by the ways in which people treat each other. The central concept that drives the book is that in strong communities, people don t go hungry.Strong communities have high levels of concern about one another s well-being. People may provide food to one another when that is necessary, but more fundamentally, they ensure that all have decent opportunities to provide for themselves. Given decent opportunities, people will not allow themselves or their families to go hungry. There is no shortage of food in the world; there is a shortage of opportunities. People who have decent opportunities either to produce food or to earn money to purchase food will manage to provide for themselves and their families."Ending Hunger Worldwide" argues that if people do not care enough about other people s well-being, there is little prospect for ending hunger in the world. Strengthening communities by building care certainly would not be an easy route to ending hunger. The argument for this approach is that it is true to the realities of the hunger problem. Without adequate caring, the many things that could be done to end hunger will not get done."
First published in 1987, this reissue explores contemporary United States foreign aid policies and thinking in the Reagan era. The author argues that aid policy is often confused as a result of bureaucratic decision-making processes. The book contrasts the experience of the many countries where aid-giving has produced unwished-for effects with the few countries where the desired results have occurred. The author concludes by arguing for a new approach to aid-giving by the United States.
When this volume was published in 1993 it was the first comprehensive analysis of the major policy issues confronting Japan's massive foreign aid programme. It deals with the philosophy behind Japan's aid, Japanese reactions to the severe criticisms of its programmes and the beginnings of meaningful administrative reform of the complex aid system. Alan Rix goes on to examine the widespread innovation in programmes and policies to make Japan's aid more responsive and the impact of the Asian bias in Japan's aid.
The international development community invests billions of dollars to improve organisational capacity. But real-life practice is poorly understood and undervalued as a distinct professional domain. Written by practitioners, this innovative publication is designed to make capacity development more professional and increasingly effective in achieving development goals. This title includes practical illustrations that draw on experiences from the civic, government and private sectors. A central theme is to understand capacity as more than something internal to organisations. This book shows how capacity also stems from connections between different types of actor and the levels in society at which they operate. The content is crafted for a broad audience of practitioners in capacity development - consultants, managers, front-line workers, trainers, facilitators, leaders, advisors, programme staff, activists, and funding agencies.
Post-war Marshall Plan aid to Europe and indeed Ireland is well documented, but practically nothing is known about simultaneous Irish aid to Europe. This book provides a full record of the aid - mainly food but also clothes, blankets, medicines, etc. - that Ireland donated to continental Europe, including France, the Netherlands, Hungary, the Balkans, Italy, and zones of occupied Germany. Starting with Ireland's neutral wartime record, often wrongly presented as pro-German when Ireland in fact unofficially favoured the western Allies, Jerome aan de Wiel explains why Eamon de Valera's government sent humanitarian aid to the devastated continent. His book analyses the logistics of collection and distribution of supplies sent abroad as far as the Greek islands. Despite some alleged Cold-War hijacking of Irish relief - and this humanitarianism was not above the politics of that East-West confrontation - it became mostly a story of hope, generosity and European Christian solidarity. Rich archival records from Ireland and the European beneficiary countries, as well as contemporary local and national newspapers across Europe, allow the author to measure and describe not only the official but also the popular response to Irish relief schemes. This work is illustrated with contemporary photographs and some key graphs and tables that show the extent of the aid programme.
Since the early 1990s, Japan has played an increasingly important and influential role in Africa. A primary mechanism that has furthered its influence has been through its foreign aid policies. Japan's primacy, however, has been challenged by changing global conditions related to aid to Africa, including the consolidation of the poverty reduction agenda and China's growing presence in Africa. This book analyzes contemporary political and economic relations in foreign aid policy between Japan and Africa. Primary questions focus on Japan's influence in the African continent, reasons for spending its limited resources to further African development, and the way Japan's foreign aid is invested in Africa. The context of examining Japan's foreign aid policies highlights the fluctuation between its commitments in contributing to international development and its more narrow-minded pursuit of its national interests. The contributors examine Japan's foreign aid policy within the theme of a globalized economy in which Japan and Africa are inextricably connected. Japan and many African countries have come to realize that both sides can obtain benefits through closely coordinated aid policies. Moreover, Japan sees itself to represent a distinct voice in the international donor community while Africa needs foreign aid from all sources.
Earthquakes come without warming, and often cause massive devastation, resulting not only in the loss of property but also of lives. Many of the survivors suffer from intense and lasting psychological trauma. This book covers the experience of recent earthquakes in India, and what has been learnt (and what we have failed to learn) in the process of managing the aftermath in each case. This includes immediate medical attention, long-term mental health care, and the reconstruction of housing and infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. The experiences of the contributors, many of whom have actively contributed their expertise to disaster management and recovery, help us understand what problems require a swift response and which aspects should be based on detailed analyses keeping in mind local conditions. Reconstruction is seen as offering an opportunity to rebuild society such that all sections of the population are empowered and brought into the community's decision-making process. It is also an opportunity to develop construction techniques that are suited to local materials and skills but are also more earthquake-resistant than the old. And finally, there is the realisation that the best first responders are local community groups which need to be nurtured, and trained in crisis management and risk mitigation.
This book explores what difference development aid has made to the size, complexity, style of functioning, values and future direction of the NGO sector in India. It does this, first, by giving a comprehensive documentation of the experience of Indian NGOs with foreign aid since Independence. Simultaneously, it also analyses, in a broad historical perspective, some of the issues which are the subject of contemporary debate regarding the voluntary sector and aid, such as who decides ?what? is development and ?how? it should be brought about; whether foreign donors have hidden agendas, and if their aid amounts to cultural imperialism; and whether aid has made NGOs more self-reliant. The book also looks at the tripartite relationship between NGOs, donors, and governments, examining, for instance, whether the government is justified in imposing restrictions on receipt of funds by NGOs on the grounds that terrorist activities and religiously motivated communal strife are often financed with funds from abroad, with NGOs being used as fronts for both.
Disasters are not natural. Natural events such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, etc. become disasters because of the fragile relations that exist between the natural, human and built environments. Sadly, major disasters will always occur in towns and cities in the developing world where resources are limited, people are vulnerable and needs are particularly great. The prevailing state of emergency challenges thoughtful and sustainable planning and construction. Yet it is possible, in theory and in practice, to construct them in a way that provides a sustainable environment and improved conditions for current and future generations. Rebuilding After Disasters emphasizes the role of the built environment in the re-establishment of lives and sustainable livelihoods after disasters. Expert contributors explain the principal challenges facing professionals and practitioners in the building industry. This book will be of great value to decision makers, students and researchers in the fields of architecture, social sciences, engineering, planning, geography, and disaster recovery.
This timely work presents cutting-edge analysis of the problems of U.S. foreign assistance programs - why these problems have not been solved in the past, and how they might be solved in the future. The book focuses primarily on U.S. foreign assistance and foreign policy as they apply to nation building, governance, and democratization. The expert contributors examine issues currently in play, and also trace the history and evolution of many of these problems over the years. They address policy concerns as well as management and organizational factors as they affect programs and policies. "Foreign Aid and Foreign Policy" includes several chapter-length case studies (on Iraq, Pakistan, Ghana, Haiti, and various countries in Eastern Europe and Africa), but the bulk of the book presents broad coverage of general topics such as foreign aid and security, NGOs and foreign aid, capacity building, and building democracy abroad. Each chapter offers recommendations on how to improve the U.S. system of aid in the context of foreign policy.
Every year the Administration and the Congress battle stubbornly and often bitterly over appropriations for foreign aid. Clearly much more is at stake than a difference of opinion over a small fraction of the annual budget: the tug-of-war stems from clashes of basic political philosophies, divergent approaches to one of the most important elements of our foreign policy, and inherent conflicts among various domestic power blocs. In his book, which adds a much-needed dimension to the discussion and analysis of United States foreign policy, O'Leary reveals the many complex factors that go into the making of American foreign aid policy. While placing the emphasis on the political system as a whole--its components, the relative power of actors in the system, and the manner in which they interact to create policy--the author presents a detailed and enlightening picture of the attitudes of the general public, the political parties, the pressure groups, and Congress itself to the issue of foreign aid. Basing his work on poll data, press comment, Congressional and Executive documents, Congressional roll-call votes, and interviews with congressmen, their assistants, foreign aid officials, and lobbyists, O'Leary makes clear how the workings of the American political system affect our foreign aid policy and programs. Originally published in 1967, it remains useful for all courses dealing with our foreign relations, Congress, or the specifics of the operation of our government. "Michael Kent O'Leary" is a professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He has held a research fellowship at the Brookings Institution and has taught at Princeton and at Dartmouth College, where he was also an assistant to the director of the Public Affairs Center. He is the co-author of "Congress in Crisis: Politics and Congressional Reform" and has edited and contributed to "Congressional Reorganization: Problems and Prospects" and "European Views of America: Problems of Communication in the Atlantic World."
This timely work presents cutting-edge analysis of the problems of U.S. foreign assistance programs - why these problems have not been solved in the past, and how they might be solved in the future. The book focuses primarily on U.S. foreign assistance and foreign policy as they apply to nation building, governance, and democratization. The expert contributors examine issues currently in play, and also trace the history and evolution of many of these problems over the years. They address policy concerns as well as management and organizational factors as they affect programs and policies. "Foreign Aid and Foreign Policy" includes several chapter-length case studies (on Iraq, Pakistan, Ghana, Haiti, and various countries in Eastern Europe and Africa), but the bulk of the book presents broad coverage of general topics such as foreign aid and security, NGOs and foreign aid, capacity building, and building democracy abroad. Each chapter offers recommendations on how to improve the U.S. system of aid in the context of foreign policy.
How do non-governmental humanitarian aid organizations initiate, terminate and extend their project activities? Humanitarian aid organizations regularly face difficult decisions about life and death in a context of serious time constraints which force them daily to select whom to help and whom not to help. Liesbet Heyse focuses on how humanitarian aid organizations make these decisions and provides an inside view of the decision making processes. Two NGO case studies are used as illustration - Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) and Acting with Churches Together (ACT) - both of which operate in an international network and represent specific types of NGOs often found in the community. This book opens up the black box of NGO operations, provides an empirical account of organizational decision making and combines insights of organization theory and organizational decision making theory.
This book brings together for the first time in a single volume a complete survey of the theoretical foundations of economic aid policies and a critical analysis of aid programs and practices. The book focuses on the contributions of familiar economic growth models and other economic and social theories of development to foreign aid practices, and provides a broad and penetrating overview of the economics of foreign aid. At the macroanalytical level, the author investigates the savings constraint and the foreign exchange constraint approaches and the models employed for determining the quantity of external capital required for achieving growth goals under varying economic conditions in the recipient economies. The author examines other approaches to aid requirements (including the capital absorptive approach), analyzes debt service capacity, and reviews various debt cycle models. The nature and significance of indicators of economic performance are investigated, and both theoretical and practical policy issues relating to the employment of aid as a means of influencing domestic policies are analyzed. In his final chapter, the author applies his theoretical conclusions to the formulation of an integrated approach to foreign aid, encompassing the major foreign assistance problems faced today. A clear and comprehensive text for every student of development economics, as well as the most thorough reference of its kind for professional economists, the book, a volume in the Aldine Treatises in Modem Economics series, will be useful to all who are concerned with the analysis, development, and execution of aid programs. "Raymond F. Mikesell" is professor emeritus of economics at the University of Oregon. He has been consultant to various branches of the government, including the Agency for International Development, the Treasury Department, the Department of State, Congress, and the President, as well as to the Inter-American Development Bank, the Pan American Union, and the World Bank. |
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