Call for Papers

11th EADI General Conference

Bonn, 21-24 September 2005

Insecurity and development:

Regional issues and policies for an interdependent world

 

 

Introduction

 

Procedure for submitting conference papers

 

Timetable

 

Conference website

 

Partners

 

Poster sessions

 

 

Working Group Sessions

 

Aid Policy and Performance Working Group
EU development co-operation


Environment and Development Ad hoc Working Group

The environment and security of the population in developing countries

Europe and Latin America Working Group

Latin America: Development, insecurity and exclusion. How to sort out this dilemma?

Gender and Development Working Group

Shaping security - Strengthening solidarity

Governance and Development Working Group

Multilevel governance, development and security

Industrialisation Strategies Working Group

Industrialisation as an engine of sustained development? The prospects and problems of stable growth and capability building.

 

Information Management Working Group

“Secure in the knowledge?” Managing Information for development. Practical approaches to delivering and accessing information onhuman security issues.

 

Law and Development Working Group

“Legal pluralism, access to justice and human security”


Regionalisms and Development Working Group
New regionalisms - Old inequalities and insecurities

 

 


Science and Technology for Development Working Group
Experiences with the implementation of new technologies in development: Have they really reduced poverty and insecurity in developing and developed countries?


Europe and Latin America / Transformations in the World System – Comparative Studies in Development Working Groups
From development to decline: The modernisation trap and the inability to respond to new challenges


Transnational Corporations and Development Working Group

TNCs, development and insecurity

Urban Governance Working Group

Urban livelihoods, inequality and conflict: Governing cities in an insecure world

 

 

 

 


Introduction

 

Insecurity and development:

Regional issues and policies for an interdependent world

 

History did not end with the end of the Cold War. New threats are looming, both within the nation states and beyond. Civil wars, ethnic conflicts, international terrorism and transnational organised crime have become more relevant threats to security than the risk of war between countries. And the perception of security risks has widened in reaction to major environmental disasters – Seveso, Chernobyl, Bhopal – or potential risks arising from man-made climate change through the burning of fossil fuels and large-scale deforestation. Finally, pandemic diseases like HIV/AIDS or SARS, which may seem to be a major threat to human security only in poor countries with inadequate health systems, can become a global threat through international travel and tourism.

 

Globalisation is seen by many as a threat to human security. New technologies have reduced the costs of international transport and communication. In order to improve economic efficiency and living standards, more and more countries have opened their borders to international trade in goods and services, capital movements and, to a lesser extent, migration. However, the more open countries become, the more they are exposed to risks from outside. An economic crisis in one region can become a threat to the world economy through speculative capital movements on integrated global financial markets. The new technologies of international communication and international financial markets can be used by terrorist and criminal networks to organise their activities and keep their financial resources away from the control mechanisms of nation states. The economic fallout of a major terrorist attack like September 11, 2001, slows down the world economy and affects poor countries no less than rich ones. The outbreak of an epidemic disease like SARS in a developing country can have similar systemic repercussions. Thus, even though rich and poor countries have different perceptions of what the most important security threats are, in a globalising world today’s major threat to one side can become a threat to all by tomorrow.

 

Economic globalisation in itself produces insecurity in both developed and developing countries. More and more people in both developed and developing countries see their jobs threatened by international competition and foreign investors. Although economic theory promises international convergence of prices and wages as a result of trade liberalisation, many countries are poorer today than in 1990. Therefore, economic globalisation requires not only rules and regulations for fair competition and credible institutions to enforce these rules, but also some international redistribution of the gains from international trade and foreign investment to those countries which are not yet able to exploit their comparative advantages and benefit from opening up to the world economy. This is the rationale of development co-operation.

 

Poverty and the increasing gap between and within rich and poor countries can be seen as the root cause of the interrelated threats to human security. Poverty is highly correlated with infectious diseases, environmental degradation and civil war, which make poor people even poorer. This vicious circle can be broken only through co-ordinated international efforts to alleviate poverty and strengthen the capacity of poor countries to solve their problems and prevent the spreading of threats to collective security from their territories.  A narrow focus on combating the new threat of international terrorism through military operations and security measures alone will not solve the problems but make them even worse if it is not complemented by more effective development co-operation.

 

New holistic concepts of security include political, economic, social, cultural and ecological aspects. At the same time, there is a widening of the concept of development, leaving behind the narrow focus on economic growth of developing countries to include political freedom and participation, poverty alleviation and the provision of essential services to people in developing countries. How far do the wider concepts of security and development converge? Or do they require different sets of policies and measures? What are the implications for development strategies and development co-operation if the goal is not only economic growth and welfare, but also increasing human security for every human being in the world?

 

These questions cannot be answered by a single discipline alone. Interdisciplinary approaches are required to find new answers and develop appropriate strategies. EADI, the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes in the various disciplines of social sciences, focuses on such approaches. The 11th EADI General Conference in Bonn, 21-24 September 2005, hosted by the German Development Institute (GDI), will provide a forum in which to take stock of the state of the art regarding the issues related to (in)security and development.

 

Conceptual analysis will be complemented by approaches related to a particular discipline or geographical region. The conceptual approach will include a systematic analysis of the link between (in)security and development in its different forms. A multidisciplinary approach will allow us to reflect on the conference theme from different angles, including migration issues, social and environmental justice, natural resources and the local perception of human security, among other things. Another focus will be on regional perceptions of security issues and development perspectives. Regional panels will provide an opportunity to compare European perceptions of insecurity and development with perceptions in other world regions.

 

Finally, lessons will be drawn for designing policies and implementing adequate strategies at local, national, regional and global levels. What is the role of local communities and municipalities in conflict prevention and development? What are the responsibilities of governments and international institutions concerning regional and global security? What role should the EU and other regional groupings play to enhance global security and human development worldwide? As a European Association of Development Institutes, EADI has a special interest in campaigning for a stronger role of the European Union in development policy, for better co-ordination of bilateral development assistance of EU member states and for coherence of all their policies vis-à-vis developing countries in view of worldwide poverty reduction and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Only a common European development policy could tilt the balance towards multilateralism against the opposite tendency of unilateralism in security and development policies. 


Procedure for submitting conference papers

 

Researchers on development issues are invited to present papers for the 11th General Conference of EADI. Papers should be related to the topics of the working group sessions of the conference. The approach to the theme may be conceptual, or it may relate to a particular field or discipline. Papers may refer to particular developing and/or transition countries or to relations between different countries and groupings or countries and regions (e.g. EU/ACP). Please consult the conference website to see the topics and to download the abstract submission form.

 

  1. Authors will send a ONE-PAGE abstract, with a clear title, explaining the objectives of the papers as well as its methodology.
  2. Papers should be related to the topics of the working group sessions of the conference.
  3. The name of the author, his/her institutional affiliation, address, e-mail address and fax numbers must be clearly indicated. All abstracts should be sent by e-mail, using the submission form on the conference website. Abstracts sent by regular mail or fax will be refused. The deadline for sending abstracts to the EADI Secretariat is 28 February 2005. Papers/abstracts can be submitted either in English or in French.
  4. Authors will be informed by the Secretariat no later than 30 April 2005 whether their subject has been accepted.
  5. Upon acceptance of their abstract, authors will send a FULL-LENGTH PAPER to the EADI Secretariat before 30 June 2005.

 

The following are prerequisites for papers to be considered:

  1. The text should not exceed 8,000 words.
  2. The following information should be given on the front page of the paper: title of paper, name of the author, address, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers.
  3. The abstract should be reproduced at the beginning of the full-length text.
  4. The bibliography should be placed at the end of the paper; footnotes should appear at the bottom of the relevant page.

 

Even if an abstract has been accepted at the first stage, any paper, depending on its quality, may be refused for final presentation in the Conference. Accepted papers will be presented by their authors in the sessions of the EADI Working Groups. Therefore authors should clearly indicate to which working group they refer, but the Scientific Committee will make the final decision.

 

Timetable

 

Deadlines:

 

Submission of abstracts: 28 February 2005

Submission of papers: 30 June 2005

 

 

 

Conference website

We will be keeping you informed in the EADI Newsletter and on the conference website at www.eadi.org/gc2005. The website will provide you with regularly updated information on preparations for the conference, on the topics, the various sessions, the speakers, the papers, the Scientific Committee, registration and logistics.

 

Partners

The conference will be hosted by the German Development Institute (GDI) and organised in partnership with SID Europe, Capacity Building International (InWEnt), the Centre for Development Studies (ZEF), Bonn, and the Centre for International Co-operation Bonn (CIC Bonn).

 

Address

EADI Secretariat

Kaiser-Friedrich-Strasse 11

53113 Bonn, Germany

 

Tel.: +49 228 2618101

Fax: +49 228 26 18 103

 

E-mail: gc2005@eadi.org

 

Poster sessions

The organisers welcome poster submissions. Poster submissions will be accepted as from 1 February 2005. Please check the conference website and watch for announcements for more information. Poster presentations are envisioned for those individuals, particularly young researchers, who are interested in getting involved in the General Conference but not necessarily to the extent of committing to a session. Posters will be organised along the same themes as the working group sessions, and there will be prizes awarded in these thematic categories.
Working Group Sessions

 

Aid Policy and Performance Working Group

 

Session title: EU development co-operation

 

The Working Group meetings at the 11th EADI General Conference in September 2005 in Bonn will focus on the topic of EU development do-operation. The meetings thus will be a part of EADI’s project ‘European Development Co-operation 2010’. The Working Group will try to invite and raise the interest of young scholars in particular.

 

This specific call for papers fits into the Working Group's overall objective of analysing the policy and performance of European governments and the European Union with regard to their policies vis-à-vis developing countries, with particular reference to their development co-operation and North-South policies. The Group also aims to explore the various forms and instruments involved in such relationships, again with particular reference to development co-operation. Evaluation of development assistance - and various approaches in this regard - is also seen as part of the Working Group's task.

 

Authors are invited to present papers on, amongst others:

-        The central themes of European development co-operation: coherence, co-ordination and complementarity;

-        EU development co-operation and poverty reduction;

-        Specific regional EU development co-operation programmes;

-        European development co-operation with specific countries;

-        EU negotiations with specific developing countries or groups of developing countries;

-        The organisation of EU development co-operation;

-        The way EU Member States relate to European development co-operation;

-        The way other (non development co-operation) policies influence the EU's relations with developing countries.

 

We particularly invite researchers who can present empirical case studies on the above-mentioned subjects or present forward-looking analytical papers on Europe’s role in international co-operation with developing countries.

 

Conveners:

 

Paul Hoebink

Centre for International Development Issues Nijmegen

Netherlands

E-mail: p.hoebink@maw.ru.nl

 

Robrecht Renard

Institute of Development Policy and Management

Belgium

E-mail: Robrecht.Renard@ua.ac.be


Environment and Development Ad hoc Working Group

 

Session title: The environment and security of the population in developing countries

 

Poverty - the most significant problem in developing countries and officially accepted as such by the international institutions - is broadly considered as a privation linked to insufficient income as well as to the lack of personal security. Therefore, insecurity appears as one of the primary issues for poor populations because of their vulnerability to unpredictable events. It is the poor people who are most frequently exposed to all sorts of risks and conflicts (sometimes associated with the environment). Furthermore, the poor are less capable of effectively responding to such conflicts. The question is whether sustainable development may contribute to human, environmental and economic security for the populations in “the North” as well as in “the South”.

 

The proposed session will focus on environmental issues in developing countries and their impact on security particularly in “the South”. In the process of globalisation new security priorities have emerged: environment security, soil, food and also military security, etc. The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) focus on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger in the world. Strategies that aim at improving food security and sources of subsistence often depend on sane ecosystems and the diversity of ecological goods and services they are able to produce.

 

The active prevention of environmental insecurity is considered to be an essential element of a conflict prevention strategy. Conflicts may arise from environmental perturbation. Researchers in the field of “traditional” security tend to neglect the role of environmental degradation or depletion of resources with respect to the appearance and the progression of conflicts. The Nobel Peace Prize for 2004 has recently been awarded to the Kenyan ecologist Wangari Maathai who stated that “the protection of environment and the promotion of peace are closely connected.” Finally, in the case of property rights, security is often a question of interpreting these rights in a given socio-political climate. It is the perception of secure tenure and the implementation of existing rules which is most important to human security. The official acknowledgement of real property is not even necessary if the informal existing rules are respected.

 

The session will deal with the following three topics (and with security issues associated to them):

-       Trade policy, the rules of international trade and environment in developing countries;

-       Biological diversity and property rights (modalities of a “just and equitable apportionment of advantages” associated with the exploitation of biological resources; the scopes and limits of instruments to administrate biological diversity);

-       Policies that combat deforestation on the basis of conservation and valorisation strategies of forestall resources.

 

The conveners of this session would like to propose the creation of a European Working Group “Environment and Development” which would have the North/South relation and environment in the developing countries as major research fields. It could be composed of members of the Sustainable Development Group (C3ED/GEMDEV) and European researchers interested in this particular subject.

 

Conveners:

Lise Frendo,

Institut de Gestion de l'environnement et d'Aménagement du territoire CEDD

Free University of Brussels

Belgium

 

E-Mail: lfrendo@ulb.ac.be

 

Géraldine Froger,

C3ED UMR IRD-UVSQ n°063

University of Versailles Saint Quentin

France

 

E-mail: geraldine.froger@c3ed.uvsq.fr


Europe and Latin America Working Group

 

Session title: Latin America: Development, insecurity and exclusion. How to sort out this dilemma?

 

The new pattern of Latin American development is characterised not only by macroeconomic stability and growth integration, but also by its inability to contribute to social cohesion. To poverty, unequal revenue distribution, ethnic discrimination, social segmentation, residential segregation can be added violence in its different forms, the increase of insecurity in the cities, drug trafficking and corruption. The challenge of building more equal and integrated societies is therefore still at stake.

 

The increase of social vulnerability for broad sectors of the population has made the elite in power and the democratic regimes lose their legitimacy for being unable to solve the everyday problems of their citizens.

 

The peripheral position of most of the Latin American countries at the level of the world economy has made them more vulnerable to capital flows, liberalisation without a counterbalancing social policy and the cyclical change of world trade.

 

In what ways will the different initiatives of regional integration allow an increase of the Latin American economic and political negotiating power and a contribution to decreasing social and territorial inequalities? What kind of  initiatives  and support that would increase social wellbeing and strengthen social structure can we come up with?

 

Conveners:

Claude Auroi

Institut Universitaire d'Etudes du Développement

Switzerland

E-mail: claude.auroi@iued.unige.ch

 

 

Isabel Yépez del Castillo

Institut d’études du développement (GRIAL)

Université Catholique de Louvain

Belgium

E-mail: yepez@dvlp.ucl.ac.be


Gender and Development Working Group

 

Session title: Shaping security – Strengthening solidarity

 

The roots of insecurity lie in processes linked to:

-        Global and national economic crisis

-        Political relations

-        Ecological change

-        Changes in social welfare / social security

These processes at the individual and societal level are also gendered. Women and girls face additional insecurity through malnutrition, illness, divorce, dispossession and widowhood. Violence against women and girls is a response to insecurity both within the household and the community. Increasingly, violence is being used as a strategic instrument against women as a weapon of war and to undermine family and cultural identities. The fragmentation of traditional institutions of security (the family, the state and religious, community or employment-related organisations) leads to a weakening of social ties and relations either among or between genders. Women are sometimes driven to engage in transactional sex to gain security for themselves and their families. Despite difficult circumstances women are creating empowering opportunities through new systems of co-operation and alliance building.

 

Papers across a broad spectrum are welcome within this context:

-        Case studies at the local, regional or national level on gendered experiences of:
- political, economic, ecological or social insecurity; women’s responses of solidarity;
- violence, civil war, terrorism and women’s – (voluntary or involuntary) participation in the continuation of this violence;

-        The emergence of new forms of security which benefit women;

-        At the policy level: Are there new approaches or paradigms emerging within development co-operation in regard to engendered security? Are alternative paradigms developed by women’s organisations (conceptually/practically) emerging?

 

The topic of security and solidarity is particularly suited to interdisciplinary research and so papers are welcome that discuss issues related to methodology and cross-cultural knowledge production within the context of the links between research and policy formulation.

 

Conveners:

Joy Clancy, Technology and Development Group (Technology and Sustainable Development Section)

University of Twente

Netherlands

E-mail: j.s.clancy@tdg.utwente.nl

 

Irna van der Molen, Technology and Development Group (Technology and Sustainable Development Section)

University Twente

Netherlands

E-mail: p.vandermolen@tdg.utwente.nl

 

Gudrun Lachenmann

FSP Entwicklungssoziologie/ Sozialanthropologie

University of Bielefeld

E-mail: gudrun.lachenmann@uni-bielefeld.de

Germany

 

 

Christine Mueller

University of Bielefeld

Germany

E-mail: christine.mueller6@uni-bielefeld.de

 

Wendy Harcourt

Society for International Development(also representing SID Europe)

Italien

E-mail: wendyh@sidint.org

 

Charlotte Martin

Netherlands

cmartin@nusu.u-net.com


Governance and Development Working Group

 

Session title: Multilevel governance, development and security

 

The range of actors involved in development and security policy issues has broadened to include governmental organisations above and below the state, as well as non-state actors such as NGOs, think tanks, multinational companies and so forth. Global, regional and local levels of decision-making have gained importance alongside the national one, with networks and agencies other than the sovereign state playing an increasingly significant role. The concept of multilevel governance (MLG) represents one possibility to approach this new reality.

 

The MLG approach was initially developed to grasp the evolving decision-making system in the EU, but the intention here is to explore its wider applicability. MLG is based on the idea that there has been a shift from the domination of the nation-state to the relative autonomy of actors at other levels, with the state delegating or losing sovereignty to other levels or actors. Nevertheless, state authorities can also assume new kinds of powers by co-ordinating the activities of various institutions for the benefit of their own policy goals.

 

We plan to hold panel sessions on multilevel governance and its implications for understanding and analysing the interplay between current development and security policies. We welcome paper proposals that look at either a specific level of MLG, (for instance, regional organisations or decentralisation), or that raise critical questions concerning the MLG model (such as issues of participation, or capacity and influence of different actors). We look forward to receiving paper proposals on a range of governance agencies and issues.

 

Conveners:

 

Liisa Laakso

Masters' Programme in Development and International Co-operationDepartment of Social Sciences and Philosophy

University of Jyväskylä

Finnland

E-mail: liisa.laakso@yfi.jyu.fi

 

Tim Shaw

Institute of Commonwealth Studies

United Kingdom

E-mail: tim.shaw@sas.ac.uk

 

Gordon Crawford

Centre for Development Studies

United Kingdom

E-mail: g.crawford@leeds.ac.uk

 


Industrialisation Strategies Working Group

Session title: Industrialisation as an engine of sustained development? The prospects and problems of stable growth and capability building.


In recent years this Working Group has covered a number of important issues that are relevant to the theme of the conference. Research on global commodity chains (production chains, value chains) has been well represented, as has work on industrial districts/clusters and other strategies that enhance the potential for locally rooted industrial growth. Technological capability, credit issues, entrepreneurship and economic policy have been addressed as well. The Group has attracted both academic researchers, policy-oriented participants and agency staff. The Group has produced several books edited by the conveners and other group members with major publishers.

The issues indicated above are equally salient today, as the global industrial structure is regenerated and translocated to new, formerly underdeveloped, areas. This process promises to increase local opportunities for sustainable development everywhere, decreasing vulnerability and bringing economic benefits to all. However, this process is also very problematic due, inter alia, to financial constraints, low technological capability, a lack of workers' rights, environmental issues, undemocratic procedures, ill-advised policies, etc. The Working Group welcomes papers that discuss the potential and driving forces of local and global industrial development as well as papers dealing with bottlenecks and problems.

 

Conveners:

 

Meine Pieter van Dijk

Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam

E-mail: mpvandijk@few.eur.nl

Netherlands


Árni Sverrisson

Stockholm University

Sweden

E-mail: arni.sverrisson@sociology.su.se

 
 
 
 
Information Management Working Group

Session title: "Secure in the knowledge?":
Managing information for development. Practical approaches to delivering and accessing information on human security issues.
 
This will be the 30th meeting of the EADI Information Management Working Group. The Group will run a series of sessions for information professionals working on managing development information, drawing on examples from those working in the human security sector. Holistic concepts of security include political, economic, social, cultural and ecological aspects. With development so reliant on addressing vulnerability, access to information in the study, discussion and analysis of security issues is essential for informed decision-making.

 

The meeting will be organised into three parts: The research community's access to information; the management of information collections and services; and a Working Group session focusing on sharing practical experience within the Group. Within the meeting the information retrieval sessions are likely to be of interest to researchers as well as information managers. We are interested in the particular approaches to handling human security information, in particular concerns regarding freedom of access and ensuring topicality.


Papers are therefore invited from information professionals managing information on human security, either as part of their library, internet service or communications
programme. They should address aspects of information management in providing research, analysis and policy information. The papers may illustrate strategy in planning the service, analysis of impact and management approaches.

Conveners:

Chris Addison

CommUniq.Org

Netherlands

E-mail: chris@communiq.org

 

Bridget McBean

ECDPM Apartment

bmb@ecdpm.org

Netherlands

E-mail: Marie-Louise Fendin

 

Danielle Bouhajeb

Institut Francophone des Nouvelles Technologies de l'Information et de la Formation

France

E-Mail: Danielle.Bouhajeb@francophonie.org

 

Marie Louise Fendin

Nordic Africa Institute, Sweden

E-mail: marie-louise.fendin@nai.uu.se
 
Law and Development Ad hoc Working Group

 

Session title: Legal pluralism, access to justice and human security

 

The aim of this session is to investigate the role that law can play in enhancing human security. Over the past few years, strengthening the rule of law has become a central concern in development co-operation. The resulting interventions, however, often seem to have two common features: a) They are not explicitly directed towards strengthening human security and b) they have a rather narrow and state-centred view of the law. Yet it is clear that human security cannot be strengthened without granting people access to a reliable justice system, with a reasonable degree of legal certainty, which strives to eradicate impunity. In today’s world, such a justice system hardly revolves or has to revolve entirely around the nation-state. The main institutions towards which people in a variety of development contexts turn if they feel threatened include traditional authorities, churches and vigilante groups, as well as powerful transnational corporations and supranational bodies. The aftermath of ethnic conflicts like those in Rwanda, Sierra Leone and East Timor can serve as an example: here people, in their search for justice, were able to turn to (revived) customary courts, churches, NGOs with an emphasis on mediation, the state legal system and (semi-) international institutions. Within this virtually kaleidoscopic situation of legal pluralism the question arises as to which institutions to strengthen and how to install a human rights culture within all institutions involved. It is for this reason that this panel welcomes contributions on the way in which both classic and alternative judicial institutions can and have been strengthened and democratised in order to enhance human security in an increasingly dangerous world. This session is a first meeting of the incipient EADI Working Group on Law and Development, and will also serve to set out a research agenda for the coming years.

 

Conveners:

 

Filip. Reyntjens

Institute of Development Policy and Management

University of Antwerp

Belgium

E-mail: Filip.Reyntjens@ua.ac.be

 

Barbara Oomen

Amsterdam Institute for Metropolitan and International Development Studies

Netherlands

E-mail: B.M.Oomen@uva.nl

 

 

 

 

 

 


Regionalisms and Development Working Group

Session title: New regionalisms – Old inequalities and insecurities

Despite predictions of a 'peace dividend', the post-Cold War era has been characterised by growing conflict. In the new century, before as well as after 9/11, 'peacekeeping' and 'humanitarian' interventions have multiplied. While most conflicts are ignited internally, they typically spread into regional struggles. This proliferation of regional war zones challenges established analyses and policies of state and non-state actors in both the South and North. Innovative multilateral responses are especially necessary in a continuing unilateral period. This session will therefore explore new approaches to understanding inequalities and insecurities in regional war zones in Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as novel approaches to local, national, regional and global security. The Working Group welcomes papers addressing these issues.

Conveners:

Tim Shaw

Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Great Britain

E-mail: tim.shaw@sas.ac.uk

 

Morten Boas

Institute for Applied International Studies

Norway

E-mail: Morten.Boas@fafo.no

 


Science and Technology for Development Working Group

 

Session title: Experiences with the implementation of new technologies in development: Have they really reduced poverty and insecurity in developing and developed countries?

 

The latter half of the 20th century and indeed the new millennium have been marked by the emergence and diffusion of new technologies. Although it is not true right across the board, embracing these technologies has led to many success stories for countries and firms, with even individuals within nation states displaying spectacular growth performance. The new technologies, when used judiciously, can affect the daily life of the common man on the street. However a large number of countries and regions within nations are not at all able to take advantage of the positive benefits from investments in these new technologies to improve their security and wellbeing. Although there is some confusion about the term "new technology", there is now increasing consensus that it refers not only to a set of generic or platform technologies whose combined impacts will have profound implications for long-term economic transformation such as information and communications technologies (ICTs), biotechnology, nanotechnology and new material. The concept is also used to include applications of existing technologies in new areas or markets. It is in this broader sense that we apply the term. Many developing countries and more importantly regions within a specific developing country are unable to participate in this so-called new technology-based development process for a variety of reasons, both historical and contemporary. This has given rise to a very pronounced feeling of being left out and, hence, has contributed to the exacerbation of insecurity among the poorer sections of society in particular. Much of the discussion about new technologies and social equality has focused on the oversimplified notion of a "digital divide” in developing countries. There is of course a feeling of insecurity among large sections of the labour market in developed countries as well. Growth of new forms of work organisation  often enough lead to outsourcing of more labour-intensive operations (in both manufacturing and distribution) to developing countries and the resulting effect of this process on the growth of unemployment. Hence, inequalities in developed countries is yet another important dimension introduced by the growth of new technologies. Reflecting these concerns, the Working Group welcomes papers, conceptual, empirical and policy-related, and also contributions which discuss gender issues on the following sub-themes (which are intended to be illustrative in nature):

 

·       The contribution of new technologies to the growth of inequalities and a feeling of insecurity: hype versus reality in the digital divide;

·       New technology as a solution for poverty reduction and empowerment: the growth of e-governance in developing countries;

·       GM foods and so-called biopharmaceuticals: implications for developing countries, especially for food security and reduction of morbidity;

·       International governance rules and their effect (potential and actual) on the growth of poverty and inequality; 

·       The diffusion of environmentally sound technologies - especially the institutional framework for its effective diffusion;

·       The growth of new forms of organisation for the generation of new technologies: on contract research organisations and outsourcing in new technologies and the effect on the labour market in developed countries.

 

Conveners:

 

Ms Henny Romijn

Eindhoven University of Technology

Faculty of Technology Management

Netherlands

 

E-Mail: h.a.romijn@tm.tue.nl

 

 

Mr Sunil Mani

Centre for Development Studies

Indien

 

E-Mail: Mani@cds.ac.in


Europe and Latin America / Transformations in the World System – Comparative Studies in Development Working Groups

 

Session title: From development to decline: The modernisation trap and the inability to respond to new challenges

 

The Working Groups Europe and Latin America and Transformations in the World System – Comparative Studies in Development announce the joint intention to organise a working group session “From Development to Decline: Modernisation Trap and Inability to Respond to New Challenges” under the general theme of the 11th General Conference of EADI.

The end of the 20th century brought the decline of catching up development. The roots of this situation can be found in the practice of catching up development itself in the course of the 20th century. Hence, it is worth considering all essential factors of achievements and failures of some nations in the process of catching up development, in particular, turning from development to anti-development or, at least, to long-term stagnation that can be seen in some CIS and Latin American countries. The Working Groups Europe and Latin America and Transformations in the World System – Comparative Studies in Development invite all interested scholars and practical activists of the development process to submit papers dealing with “post-industrial” obstacles to development in general as well as regional aspects.

 

Conveners

 

Isabel Yépez del Castillo

Institut d’études du développement (GRIAL)

Université Catholique de Louvain

Belgium

e-mail: yepez@dvlp.ucl.ac.be

 

Imre Levai

Institute for Political Science,

Budapest, Hungary

E-mail: levai@mtapti.hu

 

Victor Krasilshchikov

Institute of World Economy and International Relations

Moscow, Russia

E-mail: f1victor@mtu-net.ru

 


Transnational Corporations and Development Working Group

 

Session title: TNCs, development and insecurity

 

Transnational corporations (TNCs) play an increasingly pivotal role in development. Today foreign direct investment by TNCs is the major source of development finance. But more importantly TNCs bring with them a package of tangible and intangible assets, such as technologies, know-how and the opportunity to be integrated into global value chains and market access.

Acknowledging the growing role of TNCs in development, EADI has decided to revitalise the working group on this issue. At the 2005 EADI General Conference in Bonn the Transnational Corporations and Development Working Group will host a session on the topic "TNCs, development and insecurity".

The point of departure for directing focus to this theme is that TNCs may play a central role in creating stability and security in developing countries and transition countries by increasing economic growth and by contributing to social development. But TNCs may also bring developing countries on a dependant path where local firms remain focused on low value-added activities and where host countries become increasingly vulnerable to the global strategies of TNCs.

Against this background, the Working Group challenges researchers to propose contributions around the theme of "TNCs, development and insecurity". In particular contributions on the following themes will be welcomed:

 

Development implications of the constitution of global value chains:

-        Risks of dependence and hollowing out of local industry

-        Opportunities of upgrading through integration into global value chains

 

Political strategies for mobilising TNCs for development purposes:

-        Facilitating linkage effects and the creation of local clusters

-        Programmes to ensure the upgrading of local activities in the value chains of TNCs

-        Home country partnership programmes to increase positive impacts of TNCs

 

The relationship between home country practices and host country impacts:

-        National business systems (varieties of capitalism) and their implications for developing countries

-        Development consequences of different corporate governance practices

-        The diffusion of industrial relations from home to host countries

 

The implication of the knowledge-and innovation-driven economy for developing countries:

-        The widening of the gap between developed and developing countries in terms of innovation capacity and R&D

-        The role of TNCs in building national innovation systems.

 

 

Conveners:

 

Claire Mainguy

GEMDEV

France

E-mail : Claire.Mainguy@urs.u-strasbg.fr

 

Soeren Jeppesen

Copenhagen Business School, Department of Intercultural Communication and Management

Denmark

E-mail : sj.ikl@cbs.dk


Urban Governance Working Group

 

Urban livelihoods, inequality and conflict: Governing cities in an insecure world

 

Issues and scope:

The scope of this session is to explore urban governance and insecurity implications of increasing polarization in urban livelihoods. A particular aim is to analyse conceptual, theoretical, and policy related challenges multi-stakeholder approaches and arrangements for dealing with issues of livelihood insecurity, inequality and resource conflict. The session invites presentations that deal with one or more of the following sub-topics:

 

·      Insecure economic assets: Differential and insecure access to income and economic assets that increase inequality across social groups and geographic location. Issues of livelihoods, inequality and poverty – status, trends, and risks of conflict - and challenges for conflict management and governance (e.g. through joint private, public, and civic action or partnerships).

·      Insecure habitat and tenure: Inadequate housing, insecure tenure, and lack of habitat infrastructure and services related to, for example low quality and overcrowded housing, limited public services, poor quality water, sanitation, refuse collection, and weak communication systems – which increase health burdens, undermine working conditions, erode living conditions and create high-density neighbourhoods with high risks related to social conflicts, crime, violence and personal insecurity. Policy and governance implications.

·      Insecure urban environment: Inadequate access to a good quality environment which undermine health and social standards and increases the risks of environmental hazards and resource conflicts. Governing urban environments in unequal societies.

·      Insecure social capital and networks: Weak or limited social and/or family networks and safety nets to acquire assets and ownership and ensure basic consumption needs in the face of income deficiency or habitat deterioration. Local institutional or civil society engagement in support of community action to improve work- or habitat-related conditions. The role of local business in neighbourhood renewal. Processes of social inclusion and exclusion in relation to access to social networks, social security, education, training, credit, jobs, secure tenure and housing.

 

Conveners:

I. S. A. Baud, International Development Studies, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands E-mail: I.S.A.Baud@uva.nl

 

Trond Vedeld, NIBR, Norway

E-mail:trond.vedeld@nibr.no