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The paper examines the failure of structural adjustment programs and subsequent 'good governance' initiatives in Africa. It posits that the tension between formal institutional norms and informal neo-patrimonial practices—where leaders prioritize clients over the general public—has led to state decay. The author argues that for governance to be effective, it must be conceptualized locally, integrating informal realities into development plans rather than merely replicating Western models of transparency and accountability.

The seminar concludes that elections are not isolated events but part of a broader body polity, meaning their effectiveness in preventing conflict depends on the surrounding political culture and context. Using Ghana as a reference point, the discussion highlights that presidential elections in Africa often become zero-sum games because control of the presidency equates to control over a country's political and economic future. To mitigate this, the report suggests distributing power across state institutions and ensuring the impartiality and professionalism of Electoral Commissions. Key recommendations for managing electoral processes include grounding the process in citizen ownership, ensuring timely release of results, and fostering a culture of conceding defeat to build political compromise.

The briefing examines how the global banking crisis and falling commodity prices threaten African budgets and social expenditure, while analyzing ongoing political instability in countries like the DRC, Sudan, and Somalia, and the prospects for democratic consolidation across the continent.

The document assesses the institutional and financial failures of technology transfer from industrialized to developing countries under the UNFCCC. It contrasts the G77 + China proposal for a centralized Executive Body and Multilateral Climate Technology Fund with the European Union's preference for bilateral Technology Oriented Agreements and carbon market financing. To resolve these divergences, the author suggests a three-themed evaluation framework based on legal principles, actions across the technology chain (R&D, demonstration, deployment, and diffusion), and institutional mandates. Additionally, the document details the Climate Action Network's (CAN) call for a dedicated Technology Cooperation Mechanism and a Technology Fund to ensure measurable, reportable, and verifiable (MRV) delivery of climate-friendly technologies, specifically addressing intellectual property barriers through a proposed International Declaration on Climate Technologies and IPRs.

The report provides a comprehensive health risk assessment of sanitation technologies, categorizing them into functional groups: user interface, collection and storage/treatment, conveyance, semi-centralized treatment, and reuse/disposal. It identifies critical exposure points for users, workers, farmers, and the community, emphasizing that technical barriers (like storage time and pH elevation) must be combined with socio-cultural behavioral changes (such as hand-washing) to effectively break the cycle of disease transmission. The document analyzes specific technologies—ranging from open defecation and pit latrines to advanced wastewater treatment plants—and provides epidemiological evidence on their impact on diarrhoeal diseases and helminth infections.

The document maps the positions of various UNFCCC Parties across the innovation lifecycle—from research and development to commercial deployment—to facilitate negotiations on the Bali Action Plan. It highlights a range of proposed mechanisms, including Multilateral Technology Funds, venture capital for demonstrations, and collaborative R&D targets, such as doubling energy-related RD&D globally by 2012.

The document details a seminar featuring Dr. David Zounmenou and Mr. Sandile Zeka, who analyzed the 2008 Ghana elections. Dr. Zounmenou argued that Ghana's peaceful process was due to strong institutional mechanisms, such as a respected code of ethics and a credible Electoral Commission, contrasting this with violence in Kenya and Zimbabwe. Mr. Zeka applied 'mental model' theory to argue that shared internal images of injustice from military rule and common social needs drove Ghana's democratic stability and voting patterns. Both speakers emphasized the need for independent electoral commissions and voter education to prevent electoral violence in Africa.

The document assesses Ghana's progress in renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE), highlighting a government target of 10% RE in the energy mix by 2020. It identifies significant barriers, including the lack of a comprehensive legal framework, high upfront capital costs, and a pricing system that ignores environmental externalities. The author argues that international cooperation—through capacity building, credit support facilities, and the Clean Development Mechanism—is essential to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy and improve rural electrification.

The paper examines various target-setting regimes, including the UN Millennium Development Goals and the US Government Performance Results Act, to identify critical success factors for policy implementation. It argues that successful target regimes require a combination of outcome-based indicators, strong local ownership, and integration with budgeting processes. The authors suggest that these insights can help climate policy by translating long-term emissions goals into achievable intermediate outcomes and robust governance frameworks.

The document outlines a comprehensive system for facilitating North-South cooperation to transition countries toward low-carbon economies. It defines effectiveness through a 'cycle of cooperation' consisting of shared meaning construction, high-quality deliberation, policy internalization/implementation, and continuous learning. The author argues that since the initiative lacks binding legal enforcement, it must rely on a mix of positive material incentives (such as 'reinforcement by reward'), normative suasion, and managerial capacity-building. The framework emphasizes the need for detailed stakeholder mapping to identify 'veto players' and 'change agents,' and suggests a hybrid organizational structure combining bilateral and multilateral elements to balance ownership with legitimacy. Finally, it stresses that financial support must be substantial—amounting to 'several billion €/$'—and closely linked to demonstrable reform progress to avoid 'decoupling' between verbal commitments and actual implementation.

The report argues that while developing countries often have domestic drivers for climate-beneficial policies (such as energy security and health), resource constraints and political priorities limit their scale. It suggests that international support should move beyond the Clean Development Mechanism's (CDM) project-specific approach toward supporting broader domestic policy frameworks. The authors advocate for the use of intermediate policy indicators and targets—rather than final emissions targets—to provide shorter feedback loops and early rewards for implementation. Case studies from Brazil, China, Ghana, India, and South Africa illustrate specific sectoral opportunities in transport, steel, wind power, and solar energy. The report concludes that such cooperation should be anchored in the UNFCCC to ensure transparency and a fair distribution of financial resources for incremental costs.

The document examines the failure of the private sector to drive economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, attributing this to the political dominance of elites who extract surplus from producers. It contrasts the vulnerability of African peasants and foreign firms with the relatively stronger private sector in South Africa. The author proposes a new form of democracy that empowers producers through land ownership and independent financial institutions to foster a genuine capitalist market economy.

The report argues that while ICT innovation is a primary driver of global economic growth and productivity, it creates significant sustainability challenges through rapid hardware obsolescence, increasing energy demands of data centres, and a global e-waste crisis. It proposes viewing the sector as a 'Global Connectivity System' that includes not only manufacturers but also standards bodies, civil society, and end-users. The document highlights the tension between the Internet's origins as an open, participatory tool for social organization and emerging trends toward corporate control, government surveillance, and restrictive intellectual property rights.

The document examines the methodological requirements for conducting representative public opinion surveys to support the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). It argues that while participatory consultations are useful for public ownership, they often produce biased results. Instead, the author advocates for random probability sampling, noting that relatively small samples (e.g., 1,200 respondents) can provide accurate national estimates. The paper outlines essential prerequisites—such as recent census data and freedom of travel—and warns against the common error of polling only heads of households, which biases results toward older, employed males. It also provides a practical timeline and cost estimate for implementing such surveys in Africa.

The document details the perspectives of General Martin Luther Agwai on the implementation of the UNAMID mandate in Darfur. It outlines the socio-economic and political origins of the Darfur conflict, the transition from the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) to the hybrid UNAMID operation, and the significant logistical and political hurdles facing the mission. General Agwai argues that while UNAMID has achieved success in civilian protection and humanitarian support, it is severely hampered by a lack of equipment, insufficient troop levels, and a complex security environment where no stable peace exists to be kept.

The document reports on a September 2008 seminar discussing how international criminal justice, anchored by the ICC, interacts with the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). Participants debated the 'peace-justice nexus,' arguing that while tensions can exist, retributive and restorative justice should be pursued simultaneously to remove threats to security. The discussions highlighted that the ICC can provide a 'win-win dividend' for APSA by addressing institutional deficiencies in the 'African solutions to African problems' approach, serving as a non-violent alternative to the use of force.

The author contends that Swaziland's absolute monarchy, characterized by a lack of accountability for King Mswati III and the banning of political parties, is unable to address the country's critical challenges. These include extreme poverty, where up to 70 percent of the population may live on less than $1 a day, and a devastating HIV epidemic that has reduced average life expectancy to approximately 30 years. The economy is heavily reliant on subsistence agriculture, which is threatened by climate change, and revenue from the Southern African Customs Union. While the monarchy maintains power through traditional loyalty and control over land, growing resentment over royal extravagance and socio-economic hardship is increasing. The document suggests that Swaziland could look to other African nations like Botswana, Ghana, or Lesotho as models for transitioning to a constitutional monarchy to ensure long-term stability.

The document examines the relationship between media freedom and good governance, specifically focusing on the omissions within the African Union's African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). It argues that without an independent media to act as a watchdog, democratic governance is impossible. The author highlights the prevalence of 'insult laws' across 48 of 53 African countries as a primary barrier to press freedom and suggests specific revisions to the APRM questionnaire to ensure media independence is assessed. Case studies of South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, and Rwanda illustrate varying levels of media freedom and the tendency of official reports to overlook the media's critical role in accountability.

The research paper examines the relationship between media freedom and good governance within the context of the African Union's African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). The author contends that the APRM's failure to mandate free and independent media as a requirement for 'good governance' undermines the mechanism's effectiveness and allows authoritarian regimes to pass assessment tests. The paper analyzes the media landscapes of South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, and Rwanda, noting a general lack of recognition for the media's 'watchdog' role in their national reports. It further highlights the prevalence of 'insult laws' across 48 of 53 African countries, which criminalize criticism of government officials. The document concludes with a proposal to revise the APRM questionnaire to include specific indicators on media freedom, access to information, and the abolition of restrictive press laws.

The author argues that the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in South Africa missed a critical opportunity for public engagement because the government, specifically through the office of Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, centralized and dominated the process. This centralization marginalized civil society and the media, leading to a lack of transparency and public interest. The paper highlights the tension between the Sunday Times, which attempted critical coverage of the process, and the government, which reacted defensively to reports on national failures such as crime and child safety. It concludes that for the APRM to be an effective policy tool, governments must adopt a less defensive posture, ensure genuine transparency, and actively engage the media to translate complex reports into public-interest news.