Latin America
Presentation | People | Projects | Publications | Library acquisitions
Map: CMI research on Latin America
Although some earlier work has been carried out in Latin America it is only recently that it has become as a region formally prioritised for commissioned and in-depth research by CMI. Now in effect, this shift in focus reflects a change in the staffing of CMI itself coupled with an awareness of the changing international political and development concerns of Norwegian industry and government, and of the growing importance of comparative cross-regional research as means to understand the workings and effects of globalisation.
Earlier research on the region has focused on a number of areas including the evaluation of aid and development programmes, processes of democratisation, initiatives for reconciliation in the wake of human rights violations and the impacts of judicial reform in a number of countries in the region (Argentina, Uruguay, Guatemala, Nicaragua). Researchers at CMI have also been involved in earlier studies on decentralisation, participatory development and the impacts of foreign direct investment in the region.
Current research aims to continue and extend these earlier concerns, as well as to add a series of new research themes. New research is being carried out in the region (Bolivia, Guatemala) related to questions of social marginalisation, legal plurality, political change, violence and the politics of poverty reduction and natural resource management. Aspirations also exist to use the existing disciplinary and thematic resources and experience of CMI to develop research experience in the region related to business ethics, anti-corruption measures and public sector reform. CMI is also looking to add to its nascent network of research partners in the region through the formation of new agreements for cooperation with academic institutions in Latin America.
How is "energy" conceived and understood in Latin American politics and society? A new project explores recent decades a new wave of conflicts focused on questions of ownership, services, choice and sale of energy resources have marred the region's political stability and development and gained international notoriety and concern.
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Afghans question the liberal peace, the democratization and the development projects that have set the course for Afghanistan's transition from war to peace.
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Legal norms and institutions impact on how people are able to live their lives in many different and often unintended and unexpected ways.
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This project has two aims: (i) to develop an analytical framework useful for policy assessments of the impact of various transitional justice mechanisms on violence reduction and peacebuilding more generally, and (ii) through applying this theoretical framework to four case studies (Chile, Peru, Rwanda and Angola) assess how different approaches to transitional justice - including the absence of such mechanisms - have affected peacebuilding in the aftermath of violent conflict.
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2009 was a momentuous year at CMI. We moved to the city centre. We opened a new arena for research communication: Bergen Research Centre for International Development. And in the same year, we achieved a publication record with the highest number of peer reviewed articels ever. Read the online version.
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Recent publications
The uses and abuses of social programmes: the case of conditional cash transfers Lorena Alcázar (2010)
Hidrocarburos, polìtica y sociedad Fernanda Wanderley, Redacción (2010)
Judicial protection of the right to health in Colombia: From social demands to individual claims to public debates Alicia Ely Yamin and Oscar Parra-Vera (2010)
Cultures of Legality: Judicialization and Political Activism in Latin America Javier A. Couso, Alexandra Huneeus, Rachel Sieder (2010)
Truth seeking in a transitional justice context Elin Skaar (2010)
Recent projects and programmes
A Way Out of Violent Conflict? The Impact of Transitional Justice Mechanisms on Peacebuilding
Joint Evaluation of Norwegian and Swedish Aid in Support of Child Rights
Women and law in Latin America
Judicial Independence and Human Rights in Latin America: Violations, Politics and Prosecution
Land and Law in Latin America and Africa
Recent library acquisitions
Accounting for growth in Latin America and the Caribbean - improving corporate financial reporting to support regional economic development
Henri Fortin, Ana Cristina Hirata Barros, Kit Cutler
Accounting, Economic development, Latin America, Caribbean
Debates on the measurement of global poverty
edited by Sudhir Anand, Paul Segal and Joseph E. Stiglitz
Poverty, Measurement, Case studies, Africa, Latin America, China, India
