Civil Society and Democratic Institutions

One of the international community's overarching strategic objectives in Afghanistan is to promote a more capable public sector that serves the Afghan people. Afghanistan's Constitution and their Sub-National Governance Policy aim to establish a system of elected municipal governments and a framework that allows municipalities to effectively provide public services to their constituents. This will require a major transformation of municipalities from a weak public sector tier to a devoted local governance level. This paper reviews the current state of municipal governance in Afghanistan and discusses the re-orientation required in order for Afghanistan to achieve a more effective and responsive municipal sector.

Decentralization in Macedonia was conceived of in two different phases, allowing for an asymmetric allocation of fiscal powers. During the first phase, all local governments were assigned the responsibility to deliver only a few – mainly communal – local government functions. After fulfillment of specific conditions and approval by the central government, local governments in Macedonia would be allowed to take on their broader functional responsibilities. Using a detailed dataset of local government finances, this study analyzes the evolution of local government revenues and expenditures in Macedonia and highlights the main problems of the country's intergovernmental finance system.

Post-Gadhafi Libya brims with promise, but also with pitfalls. The Urban Institute's Charles Cadwell and George Mason University's Jack Goldstone outline steps Libya should take if it is to make great strides toward democracy and its people are to enjoy their hard-won freedom.

The Constitution that Kenyans adopted in September 2010 represents an important step in the process of national reconciliation and an important attempt to make Kenya's public sector more efficient and more accountable through devolution. The new Constitution assigns a prominent role in the public sector to county-level governments, as it transfers detailed functional responsibilities to the county level and provides that at least 15 percent of national revenues are to be shared with county governments. This IDG Policy Brief discusses whether the implementation of the Constitution will bring about a sea-change in intergovernmental fiscal relations and public empowerment in Kenya, or whether the changes in Kenya's intergovernmental structure in practice will represent a smaller and more incremental step towards a more decentralized governance structure.

Although the timing and fervor of the unrest in Egypt over the past several weeks has come as a surprise to many, the underlying causes of the unrest do not come as a surprise. While the removal of President Hosni Mubarak signifies the achievement of the demonstrators' main demand, merely substituting the president or cabinet will not make Egypt more democratic, nor will a change in the national leadership empower the people over the public sector. Instead, deep structural reforms are needed within Egypt's public sector in order to ensure that the public sector is capable of being responsive to the needs of the people. This Policy Brief highlights the role that decentralization reform could play in that process.

Public opinion polls or surveys of public opinion are used across the world for many reasons, from estimating election results to citizen report cards. While survey results are reported and shared with the public, they are also used to help make policy decisions about public service delivery. This paper focuses on the use of performance information obtained from citizens to help make decisions about resource allocations and improving service delivery. Special challenges in conducting surveys and uses of survey-based performance indicators are presented. Performance data have little value and remain underutilized if nothing is done with the information. Survey results give information on what is working and what is not. The cost of not getting this feedback and evaluating how services affect citizens far outweighs the cost of conducting surveys.

As President Obama and the 111th Congress prepare to assume office, Urban Institute (UI) experts offer their advice on evidence-based policymaking and the policy issues facing the country. Charles Cadwell, Director of UI’s Center on International Development and Governance (IDG) argues that foreign aid and a renewed emphasis on international development are essential to national security and international stability, but that money alone will not achieve the desired policy outcomes. Policies and institutions, not resources, pose the greatest constraints and require the most work ahead.

Local governments sit at the confluence of formal and informal governance systems in Pakistan. Law and order, service delivery, and citizen interaction with the state take place in villages, towns, and cities, where families, tribes, political parties, religious organizations, and government officials share dominion. In 2001, then-President Pervez Musharraf called for the creation of local governments better attuned to citizen preferences and adept at providing improved services. Today, this autonomy initiative is up for grabs as Pakistan’s provinces reconsider the role of local government and the nation readies for fall elections.