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The research for this policy brief has been conducted as part of the research project “Civil Society against Corruption in Ukraine: Political Roles, Advocacy Strategies, and Impact", and has been funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research".

The 2013–2014 Revolution in Ukraine has spurred a boom in civic anti-corruption initiatives across Ukraine. There is as yet little consolidated understanding of how effective these initiatives are and what explains variation in effectiveness. Insights from academic and practitioner literature suggest that factors associated with success in anti-corruption activism fall under three broad categories: environmental factors, advocacy strategies of civil society organizations, and their organizational characteristics. Drawing on a comprehensive study of anti-corruption activism in the regions of Ukraine, this article asks how these insights relate to anti-corruption activism in the regions of Ukraine. We find that anti-corruption initiatives generally face two key dilemmas: insufficient capacity in terms and financial and human resources, and the absence of a credible base of support. Anti-Corruption organizations that are most effective tend to be those that convincingly solve either one of these two dilemmas. In addition, we find that political will among local authorities is an important conducive factor to the effectiveness of anti-corruption activism. The article also discusses the implications of our findings for practitioners of international assistance.

One of the main priorities for the international assistance programmes focusing on anticorruption reforms in Ukraine, is the support of such reforms at the regional and local levels. The regional and local non-governmental organisations are considered as the key actors of this process. In the meantime, the donors face certain challenges with regard to the work in the regions. These challenges are caused by low professional and institutional capacities of a significant number of such NGOs. Every donor programme or organisation looks for its own working methods as well as for the ways to overcome the challenges of local level work. Consequently, the development of the recommendations for donor programmes and organisations focusing on the implementation of anti-corruption projects in Ukraine is crucial on the current stage. The goal of the document is to provide the donor community with the recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of the donors’ cooperation with the non-governmental organisations of regional and local levels.

The research for this policy brief has been conducted as part of the research project “Civil Society against Corruption in Ukraine: Political Roles, Advocacy Strategies, and Impact", and has been funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research". The present policy brief was prepared within the framework of the research project “Civil Society against Corruption in Ukraine". The goal of the document is to provide the donor community with the recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of the donors' cooperation with the non-governmental organisations of regional and local levels.

With continuing challenges facing the international presence in Afghanistan, the need to secure local legitimacy, or ‘winning heart and minds’ of the local population is gaining increasing foothold in contemporary policy-making and academic debate on international intervention. However, knowledge of how international actors in the field understand local legitimacy remains limited. The purpose of this article is to take a first cut at examining how the two leading actors of international intervention – the UN and NATO – frame the issue of local legitimacy in Afghanistan, and to evaluate the potential impact of these findings on the prospects of inter-organizational coordination in the field. Based on a qualitative comparative analysis of statements issued in UN SC Resolutions, SC Debates, and S-G Reports (2001–2011) and NATO Declarations and Opinions (2003–2011), the study finds that the UN and NATO frame the issue of local legitimacy in surprisingly similar ways. However, the framing appears problematic in terms of how it depicts the relationship between the international presence and the Afghan state and its people. To illustrate, both the UN and NATO tend to externalize the issue of local legitimacy by linking it to the strength of the Afghan state rather than to the quality and effectiveness of international assistance and furthermore do not explicitly recognize Afghan civilians to have any autonomous influence on the level of local legitimacy. Instead, civilians are only portrayed to affect the level of legitimacy indirectly as the victims of insurgent or coalition attacks. The results of the study thus indicate a lack of awareness and self-criticism within the international intervention apparatus towards the potential pitfalls of international assistance, and it signals a lack of attention paid to the agency of local Afghans, which stands the risk of jeopardizing prospects for international civil–military coordination with Afghan stakeholders.

The international community has intervened repeatedly in Somalia since the central government fell in 1991. Unfortunately, these interventions failed to produce a stable, elected government. Instead, over the last 20 years Somalis have faced famine, terrorism, sexual violence, and a lack of basic public services. Somalia's problems stem from a lack of political unity and the rule of corrupt elites who misappropriate foreign aid and national resources. However, even with the pressures of the last two decades, parts of Somali society have prospered and developed into civil societies that serve as counterweights to a predatory government. The international community and the United States should provide support around the edges of Somali politics and society. Actively engaging the center of politics and society through a brokered peace deal or lengthy military occupation would invite corruption and mistrust. Aggressive intervention such as establishing an international administration over Somalia would unnecessarily cause friction. It also would delay Somalia's development into a unified, strong nation. Numerous Somalis possess the technical ability to run a government. What is missing is accountability., The original document contains color images.

Existing foreign aid databases – the OECD’s CRS data and now AidData – are project-based. And yet nearly all empirical analyses using these data aggregate to the country-year level, thereby losing project-specific information. In this paper, we introduce new data on the geographic location of aid projects that have been committed to many African countries between 1989 and 2008. The data enable an examination of project-level information in a wider variety of systematic research contexts. To demonstrate the utility of the new data, we discuss how geographically disaggregated foreign aid and armed conflict data are needed to capture the theoretical mechanisms in the aid-conflict literature. We then map the disaggregated aid and conflict data in Sierra Leone, Angola, and Mozambique as specific examples of how these data could help disentangle competing causal mechanisms linking aid to conflict onset and dynamics. The research provides an important new perspective on the connections between aid and conflict. More generally, it is a crucial first step in geo-referencing and comparing foreign aid projects to various localized development outcomes., Development aid, humanitarian assistance and conflict risks

The humanitarian crisis many feared would take place in March 2003 as a result of the war in Iraq appears to be unfolding. It is estimated that in total (including those displaced prior to the war) there may be 2 million Iraqi refugees who have fled to Jordan, Syria, and other neighboring states, and approximately 2 million Iraqis who have been displaced within Iraq itself. Throughout areas in western and central Iraq, the security situation is deteriorating, and many of Iraq's neighbors fear that they are being overwhelmed by refugees fleeing over Iraq's borders. There are now heightened concerns about the absorptive capacity of neighboring countries, whether they can provide adequately for the populations moving across borders, and the impact of refugee flows on stability in general. Some experts think that the Iraq situation could well begin to outpace other refugee crises worldwide. This report provides an analysis of the current crisis, including the conditions for those displaced in Iraq and the refugee situations in Syria, Jordan, and elsewhere. It also provides information on the U.S. and international response and examines refugee resettlement options in the United States. Aspects of this crisis that may be of particular interest to the 110th Congress include a focus on an immediate response (providing humanitarian relief funding), examining resettlement policies, and developing a strategy to manage the displaced, particularly within Iraq. This report will be updated as events warrant. For more information on Iraq, see CRS Report RL31339, "Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security," Christopher M. Blanchard, Coordinator, and CRS Report RL33793, "Iraq: Regional Perspectives and U.S. Policy," by Kenneth Katzman., CRS Report for Congress. The original document contains color images.

The RAND Corporation has conducted a several studies on nation building and counterinsurgency drawing on the experience from dozens of American and non-American led operations over the past century. This is the assessment and the recommendations of James Dobbins, Director of the Rand International Security and Defense Policy Center and the Bush administration's First Special Envoy for Afghanistan., Testimony presented before the House Armed Services Committee on January 30, 2007. The original document contains color images.

This study aimed to identify the influences on the development and sustainability of education for librarianship and information management. It analysed the factors that contribute to the development of education for librarianship and information management, drawing on theories of change management and the transfer of innovation, and the contextual factors suggested by theories of comparative librarianship. The investigation of these factors focused on a case study of developments in Iraq up to 2003. It examined education for librarianship and information management against the background of the creation of the countrys library and information services, and the broader context of its national, economic, and social development. It also considered trends in international perspectives on library development, and the advice and assistance offered to Iraq. To provide a benchmark for developments in Iraq, it contrasted developments there with brief summaries of parallel developments in other Arab countries and in the cognate field of education for archives and records management in Iraq. It drew evidence from the published literature, previously unexplored archival material, and discussions with some of the participants. From an evaluation of the evidence, the study developed models of the value chain in developing education in the field, illustrating the complex interactions that need to be considered. These represent the generic factors that appear critical to the sustainable development of education for librarianship and information management not only in developing countries but also in countries that are seeking to strengthen the foundations of education in this field. The conclusions also pointed to a number of specific issues that fostered or hindered development in Iraq, including trends in international assistance. The study calls for further work including investigating the impact of traditional and cultural attitudes on the development of education in the field

This study aimed to identify the influences on the development and sustainability of education for librarianship and information management. It analysed the factors that contribute to the development of education for librarianship and information management, drawing on theories of change management and the transfer of innovation, and the contextual factors suggested by theories of comparative librarianship. The investigation of these factors focused on a case study of developments in Iraq up to 2003. It examined education for librarianship and information management against the background of the creation of the countrys library and information services, and the broader context of its national, economic, and social development. It also considered trends in international perspectives on library development, and the advice and assistance offered to Iraq. To provide a benchmark for developments in Iraq, it contrasted developments there with brief summaries of parallel developments in other Arab countries and in the cognate field of education for archives and records management in Iraq. It drew evidence from the published literature, previously unexplored archival material, and discussions with some of the participants. From an evaluation of the evidence, the study developed models of the value chain in developing education in the field, illustrating the complex interactions that need to be considered. These represent the generic factors that appear critical to the sustainable development of education for librarianship and information management not only in developing countries but also in countries that are seeking to strengthen the foundations of education in this field. The conclusions also pointed to a number of specific issues that fostered or hindered development in Iraq, including trends in international assistance. The study calls for further work including investigating the impact of traditional and cultural attitudes on the development of education in the field