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Major projects and programmes:
U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre
Angola Co-Operation
Bangladesh Co-Operation
Sudan Programme - Events and Multimedia
Flammable societies?Despite the discovery of oil and gas, most countries rich in natural resources are still economically troubled and conflict-ridden. -Resources are not only tied to financial value, but also to social identity and cosmology. Current explanations of the resource curse fail to consider historical grievances and the significance of social territorialism, says John-Andrew McNeish in his newly published book Flammable Societies: Studies on the Socio-Economics of Oil and Gas. 
AidDoes aid work?CMI does extensive work on development aid issues. This comprises of research as well as operational engagement with decision-makers and development aid practitioners. Research projects have focused on the role and relevance of aid.  Cultures and Politics of FaithReligion in SocietyResearch on cultures and politics of faith investigates how religious groups express their faith in different settings and explores the dialectics between the local and the global. Our research seeks to grasp the power of religion in the framing, understanding, and motivation for social and political action.  Gender PoliticsWhen Women Take ControlGrounded in local understandings of gender relations, our focus is on women's survival and resilience strategies in extreme situations of poverty, violence, political and religious oppression and displacement. We look at a variety of arenas and spaces in which women seek empowerment. We study women not as victims, but as agents of change in their various roles from heads of households to militant activists.  Global Health and DevelopmentQuality HealthcareHealth plays a crucial role in human development and social justice. Large improvements in health outcomes of poor populations are technologically and economically feasible. Yet there are enormous challenges in implementing health systems that deliver quality services, and in overcoming the economic and social factors that produce ill-health and represent barriers to care.  Governance and CorruptionDemocratic Governance without CorruptionCMI research on governance explores the conditions of a well-functioning system of democratic governance with low levels of corruption. What factors and mechanisms explain political and bureaucratic accountability in a given polity?  Natural ResourcesOiled Progress or Foiled Prospects?Natural resources have an ambiguous impact on development. Income from natural resources increases the wealth of nations directly. However, certain natural resources impair the development prospects of countries because natural resource rents generate dysfunctional behaviour such as patronage, rent-seeking or outright conflict. Our research focuses on natural resource ambiguities by analysing political and social mechanisms linking or delinking resources and development.  Peace and ConflictBuilding PeaceConflict and peace profoundly influence the prospects of securing development and justice. By drawing on theoretical frameworks and field-based experiences from ongoing conflicts, this research cluster challenges the present peacebuilding discourse. Our policy related research is developed in collaboration with researchers from countries in conflict and with international experts.  Poverty DynamicsEscaping PovertyThe goal of this research cluster is to understand the underlying economic and social mechanisms that explain why people are trapped in poverty. Focus is applied to analysing livelihood strategies over the course of life at the household level.  Public Finance ManagementIt's All About TaxHow can developing countries produce an efficient, responsive and accountable public sector? Most poor states are unable to raise the revenue they need for providing basic services to the majority of their citizens. Our research focuses on how governments in poor countries can raise and manage domestic financial resources in ways that enhance their effectiveness and political legitimacy.  Rights and Legal InstitutionsProtecting Human RightsHuman rights are protected by norms and legal institutions. What happens when these rights are violated? Who can hold the violators – be they individuals or state institutions – responsible? Can rights and legal institutions be tools for poor and marginalized people to improve their life conditions? Can they advance the right to health and serve to hold governments accountable to human rights commitments in the context of climate change? We examine the parameters for rights protections by focusing on the law, courts, and social practices.  |
We will never know what really happened in Port Said Stadium. Was it sheer incompetence or sinister politics at play? Read more
The high number of killed, injured and displaced persons in Colombia is a testimony of the failure of the iron fist policy. Read more
Current efforts to combat money laundering in the informal financial sector have had very limited effects. Informal money transfer systems cannot be treated and controlled like formal banks, says CMI advisor Jesper Johnsøn in a newly published article. Read more
John Andrew McNeish and Owen Logan (2012) London, Pluto Press 370 p.
Ed. by Anh Nga Longva and Anne Sofie Roald (2011) Leiden/Boston: Brill (Social, economic and political studies of the Middle East and Asia vol. 108) 369 p.
Astri Suhrke (2011) Oslo: Spartacus 333 p.
What are the irrational choices we make that perpetuate poverty, corruption, discrimination?
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