American Political Science Association (APSA), 2008 Annual Meeting Categories and the Politics of Global Inequalities

Transcription

1 American Political Science Association (APSA), 2008 Annual Meeting Categories and the Politics of Global Inequalities The rationale The main intention of this one-day course on Social and Political Analysis at the World Bank was to bring together political and economic scientists as well as practitioners with the goal of integrating political science work, and political scientists themselves, more in the work of the World Bank 1. This note consists of an overview, summary of the course, and working groups. Participants The course was led by Anis Dani (Quality Assurance Group, World Bank) and Margret Levi (Jere L. Bacharach of International Studies, Department of Political Washington, Seattle), and organized by Sabine Beddies (Social Development Department, World Bank). Invited speakers were Doris Voobraak and Marcela Natalicchio (Public Sector Governance, World Bank), Philip Keefer (Development Research Group, World Bank), Sabine Beddies (Social Development, World Bank) and Ashutosh Varshney ( of Political Science at the University of Michigan). Andrew Norton chaired the sessions, and Catherine Gamper supported the Bank team. Among the course participants were political scientists, graduate students and practitioners (see detailed list of participants in Annex 2). For details, see Highlights of discussions Highlights from discussions of presentations The discussions following from the presentations touched on some of the most challenging questions the World Bank is facing in its engagement in political economy work. Key questions included the timing of the Bank s engagement in this work, and dealing with this sensitive topic in actual operations, especially from the Bank s side. Participants asked how the Bank takes equity considerations into account in planning and running operations, and how complex institutional changes (which may take many years) can effectively be promoted or monitored in short-term project time horizons. Finally, the training of employees or government clients for the 1 This Note was prepared by Catherine Camper with comments by Andrew Norton and Sabine Beddies, and was cleared by all involved speakers. 1

2 engagement in political economy work was highlighted as a key issue in the discussion. The recent trend for considering social and political issues more centrally in the Bank is, among other factors, due to the changing mandate and the changing perception of the Bank and its client governments. The realization that political economy analysis can contribute to more effectiveness in development operations has been a part of this change. Acknowledging that the degree of sensitivity varies across countries, the discussion emphasized the importance of stakeholder engagement in the process of political economy work. It was underlined that the Bank s influence on the actual outcome can vary. Key areas where the Bank might use political analysis to improve its performance include addressing equity and power relations, resolving conflicts among different stakeholders and the identification of and collaboration with champions of change to work on policy reforms. The consideration of equity in the Bank s work was discussed, especially in terms of its core mandate of promoting economic growth. Despite differences in emphasis on equity or growth as development priorities, there is an emerging consensus that countries facing barriers to equity also face problems in achieving growth. Therefore there was agreement that a focus on equitable growth is useful and calls for the Bank to consider the political economy of equitable development more carefully in the way it promotes economic growth. In order to promote incremental changes, it is vital to consider equity in each operation from the design stage and not an add-on. The proposition was discussed that political economy work necessitates a longer-term horizon in development operations than usually permitted. It was acknowledged that the conventional business cycle of the Bank and other development agencies can be a constraint to using a political economy perspective effectively to promote change. But although effective institutional and social change is usually a long-term, incremental process, it was emphasized that development agencies need to be agile and able to react quickly to events. A long-term perspective on social and political change does not mean that radical action is not possible, or sometimes necessary. The Bank trains civil servants in client countries, but not necessarily civil society. The last 15 years show an increase in collaboration with civil society due to more interest in diversifying the Bank s collaboration. The realization that bureaucracy can be part of the solution in reform processes, but at times also a barrier in reform processes, changed the way the Bank is engaging with different stakeholders. The role of demand side mechanisms in demanding accountability, performance and transparency is increasingly recognized and leads to a growing interest in working with civil society, parliaments and other actors outside the executive. However training is something that is urgently needed across stakeholder groups, including Bank staff, to strengthen expertise and promote dialogue. Highlights from discussions of working groups In the afternoon working groups participants were asked to discuss 3 different scenarios, which simulated Bank operations that face political economy issues. 2

3 Participants were asked to distill the strategic issues, the methodology that could best be used and the practical policy advice they would give to task teams. Participants perceived the working groups as a good way to creatively apply the content of the course presentation session. This practical usefulness of the course was appreciated and sparked the interest in how the Bank engages in the integration and collaboration of different scientific experts. Course outcomes to take forward in the Social Development s work stream The course proved to be a good exercise for familiarizing a key outside stakeholder group with the nature of political and social analysis within the World Bank. The material of the course will therefore be used for future trainings. APSA and the Social Development Department of the Bank agreed to further expand their now three year collaboration to explore find ways of improving the Bank s effectiveness in using political economy analysis and simultaneously to provide opportunities for the political science community in the US and beyond to develop skills in applied political analysis for development practice. 3

4 ANNEX Participants List APSA 2008 Participants List Name Institution Affiliation Contact Attended Rachel Ellet Mouat Junior of International Studies Science Beloit College Junior 700 College St Beloit, WI Tel: Fax: , yes Tobias Hofmann College of William & Mary, Government Dpt.? 10 Morton Hall, Williamsburg, VA , Tel: Fax: yes Nicolai Petrovsky Cardiff Business School Research Fellow Tel: yes Jennifer Bussel California, Berkely PhD candidate Govind Gopakumar Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Dpt. Of Science and Technology Studies Recent PhD Graduate 110 8th Street, Troy, NY , Kim Moloney American University in Public Administration American University, , Michelle Dion Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology 781 Marietta Street, NW, Atlanta, GA, Rebecca M. Nelson Department of Government, Harvard University Harvard University, Sara Miller Georgia State University Georgia State University, , 4

5 Name Institution Affiliation Contact Attended Gabriella R. Montinola California Associate Davis One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, Nima Mazaheri Washington Seatlle, WA, Ruth Ben-Artzi Providence College, Internatiol Relations No Stefanie J. Rickard Chelsea Brown Dublin City University, School of Law and Government? stephanie.rickard.dcu.ie John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies, Department of Political Science, Southern? 3300 University Blvd., Carr-Collins Hall, 2nd Fl., Dallas, TX 75205, Tel: , No Brigitte Geissel Abo Akademi? Bethany Barratt Mansfield Institute of Social Justice and Transformation, Roosevelt University Director of Social Justice Programming, Associate of Political Science Biskopsgatan 15, FIN Abo/Turku, Tel: , Fax , geissel@wzb.eu No 430 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60626, , bbarratt@roosevelt.edu Devin Joshi Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver 2199 S. University Blvd., Denver, CO 80208, , devin.joshi@du.edu Tatiana Vashchilko Brian Richter Science, University Park 219 Pond Laboratories, University Park, PA 16802, Tel: , tvv105@psu.edu UCLA School of Mangement brian.richter.2010@anderson.ucla.edu Ziad Zaghrout University of Washington, Seattle ziadz@u.washington.edu Jun Wei Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Research One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, DC, 3027, weijun2000@gmail.com 5