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I Bolivia bedrivs ett jordbruksprogram vid namn PROAGRO (Programa de Desarrollo Agropecuario Sostenible), genom ett trilateralt samarbete mellan Bolivia, Tyskland och Sverige. Syftet med programmet är att öka resiliensen bland småskaliga jordbrukare mot klimatrisker, förbättra deras förvaltning av vattenresurser och lokala avrinningsområden samt skapa ökad hållbar avkastning från deras jordbruksproduktion. Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka hur PROAGROs personal, småskaliga jordbrukare och andra aktörer, upplever att klimatförändringarna påverkar lantbrukarnas levebröd. Vidare syftar uppsatsen att undersöka om lantbrukarnas resiliens mot klimatrisker ökar till följd av de insatser som genomförs av PROAGRO. Undersökningen har avgränsats och fokuserar på ett specifikt avrinningsområde vid namn Kuyoj Qhocha. Undersökningen baseras på kvalitativa intervjuer med lantbrukare, personal från svenska och tyska biståndsorgan samt med lokala myndighetspersoner. Den insamlade empirin jämförs i uppsatsen med tidigare forskning och teorier relaterade till resiliens, klimatförändringar och anpassning. Resultaten av studien visar att lantbrukarna i Kuyoj Qhocha upplever variationer i klimatet, som förändrade regn- och värmecykler, vilka påverkar dem både positivt: exempelvis genom uppkomsten av nya odlingsmöjligheter och negativt: exempelvis på grund av förstörda odlingar tillföljd av torka. Deras resiliens ökar successivt, främst på grund av användandet av vattenskörds tekniker men också på grund av andra integrerade lösningar som diversifieringen av grödor och inkomster, pedagogiska verkstäder, och genom att hjälpa lantbrukarna att ansöka om ekonomiskt bistånd hos regeringen för förverkligandet av jordbruksutvecklande projekt. / In the small basin Kuyoj Qhocha, in Bolivia, an agriculture program named PROAGRO (Programa de Desarrollo Agropecuario Sostenible, Sustainable Agricultural Development Program) is being conducted. The program is carried out by a trilateral cooperation between Bolivia, Germany and Sweden and its main objectives are to increase resilience to climate risks among small-scale farmers, improve their management of water resources and local watersheds and generate increased and sustainable returns from their agricultural production. This essay aims to respond on how Kuyoj Qhocha‟s small-scale farmers and other actors involved in PROAGRO perceive that climate change is affecting the farmers‟ livelihood. It also aims to investigate if the farmers and the other actors recognize that the farmers‟ resilience to climate risks is increasing as a result of the efforts made through PROAGRO. The investigation has been made through qualitative interviews with farmers, personnel from international cooperation agencies and with officials at the local municipality. The investigation is compared with earlier research concerning climate change adaptation and social resilience. The study shows that farmers of the region are experiencing variations in climate, such as altered rain and heat cycles, affecting them both negatively: for example through destroyed plantations due to droughts, and positively: for example by the possibility to cultivate new crops. Their resilience against climate risks is gradually increasing mainly because of the usage of water harvest technologies but also through several integrated solutions such as the exploit of beneficial opportunities through the diversification of crops and income, by educational workshops and by assisting the farmers to apply for economic support from the government.

This essay is to be filed as a sub-category under the greater question of what sets the odds for international cooperation. It takes a closer look at domestic politics’ influence over the issue area: utilizing a liberal rational actor theoretical approach with an interest focus. The subject of this single case study is climate politics in the United States during the Obama Administration and its meaning for the Copenhagen Accord commitments.It concludes that domestic politics matter for the odds of international cooperation in the case of U.S. climate action and that ratification of the U.S. commitments to Copenhagen rest in the hands of strong interest groups. This conclusion relies on the fact that in the U.S., the decision-making horizon for the ‘collective’ of government branches is short due to overlapping election cycles, a slow legislative process and a weak party structure. What this essay underlines is that ignoring domestic politics and viewing states as unitary actors under conditions of divergent policy preferences between branches of government will produce incomplete and incorrect conclusions about the reasons and odds for international cooperation.

No description available.

What kind of activity is global governance? What do all of the many sectoral forms of global governance – of the planetary environment, of global finance and global health – have in common? Moving beyond sector-specific studies, this book outlines the fundamentals of global governance in eight chapter-length propositions.

Tesis por compendio / [EN] Within the field of development management, an emerging critique to the aid system has gained prominence. It focuses on how the dominant language and logics in the aid sector have depoliticised the issues of development, thus reducing them to purely technical and managerial problems. These problems are supposed to be managed by experts, who are considered to have the capacity of total control over development processes. This trend, which has been called managerialism, avoids issues of political economy, power or conflict, and assumes the logics, values, discourses and procedures of the private sector (focusing then on issues as "efficiency", "products" or "impact" of development projects). In this process, development organizations become mere service-providers, they have been co-opted by the global neoliberal agenda, and their actions serve to reinforce unequal power relationships. From this analysis, it is possible to obtain insights for rethinking development and aid, reframing them as complex, political and intrinsically conflictive processes. Moreover, some critics to managerialism also suggest that a (re)politicised perspective on development and aid should also be transformative, and that development organizations should recognise and value alternative systems of knowledge and personal and societal projects; should contribute to examining alternative development models, beyond productivist capitalism and market-driven liberal democracy; and should place bottom-up processes of change at the centre. The research also departs from the idea that, within the aid system, a small and scarcely visible group of people and development organizations are trying to promote alternative discourses and practices of development and aid that, instead of reinforcing the advancement of the neoliberal global agenda, are challenging it. From this standpoint, the aims of the thesis are, on the one hand, to explore how a political and transformative practice of development and aid could be characterised; and on the other hand, to explore how this political and transformative practice is taking place, and how it could be promoted in different spaces. The research explores three spaces in which these practices may be taking place and could be promoted, approaching case studies in different environments: 1) in formal education, addressing the learning process in a Master's degree in development management; 2) in the practice of development itself, addressing how learning takes place in informal processes through the relationships between Spanish development organizations and their partners in Latin America; 3) in the adoption of a new management approach in development organizations, specifically exploring the processes and implications of the adoptions of a rights-based approach in Spanish organizations. The methodology used is essentially qualitative, based on secondary data and primary data obtained through personal interviews and group discussions. Given the exploratory nature of the study, its aim is to propose concepts and hypotheses, identify the dimensions of the subject and processes under study, and propose possible connections between them. Results suggest that the characteristics and the processes that lead to a political and transformative practice of development and aid are not completely separate issues. The thesis also reveals that this political and transformative perspective is intrinsically problematic, full of contradictions, tensions and paradoxes. Far from being resoluble, the work suggests that these tensions should be accepted and dealt with, as they are part of the intrinsic nature of development and social change. / [ES] Dentro del ámbito de los estudios de gestión del desarrollo, se ha articulado una crítica al sistema de cooperación de creciente importancia que pone en el centro la cuestión del gerencialismo. Analiza cómo los nuevos lenguajes y lógicas en el sector estarían despolitizando las cuestiones del desarrollo, que quedarían reducidas a simples problemas técnicos y de gestión, manejables por expertos a los que se les atribuye una total capacidad de control de los procesos. El gerencialismo evita cuestiones de economía política, de poder y conflicto para asumir la lógica, los valores, discursos y procedimientos del sector privado (hablando así de cuestiones como eficacia, productos o impacto de los proyectos de desarrollo). En este proceso, las organizaciones de desarrollo, convertidas en prestadoras de servicios, habrían quedado cooptadas por la agenda neoliberal global, y sus acciones estarían reforzando relaciones desiguales de poder. Sobre la base de estos análisis, se puede obtener elementos para repensar la cooperación y el desarrollo y resituarlos como procesos complejos, políticos e intrínsecamente conflictivos. Además, estas críticas invitan también a partir de la idea de que una perspectiva (re)politizada debe ser también transformadora, de que las organizaciones de desarrollo deben reconocer y valorar conocimientos y proyectos de vida y sociedad alternativos a los dominantes; contribuir a profundizar en modelos alternativos de desarrollo más allá del productivismo capitalista y la democracia liberal de mercado, y situar los procesos de cambio desde abajo en el centro. Se entiende también que dentro del sistema de cooperación, si bien de manera minoritaria y poco visible, personas y organizaciones de desarrollo estarían promoviendo discursos y prácticas de la cooperación y el desarrollo distintos, alineados con las ideas señaladas y que, en lugar de ser funcionales al avance del modelo neoliberal globalizado, lo estarían retando. Por tanto, los objetivos de esta tesis son, por un lado, explorar una posible caracterización de una práctica política y transformadora de la cooperación y el desarrollo; por otro, explorar cómo se produce y puede promoverse esta práctica política y transformadora en diferentes espacios. El trabajo explora tres espacios en los que estas prácticas puedan estar dándose y puedan promoverse. Se aproxima así a casos de estudio vinculados a, en primer lugar, la enseñanza formal, abordando el proceso de aprendizaje en un máster en gestión del desarrollo. En segundo lugar, la propia práctica de la cooperación, analizando cómo se producen aprendizajes de manera informal y emergente en las relaciones establecidas entre organizaciones de desarrollo del Estado español y sus aliados en América Latina. Por último, la incorporación de nuevos enfoques de gestión en las organizaciones, teniendo en cuenta los procesos e implicaciones a la hora de incorporar el enfoque basado en derechos en organizaciones del Estado español. La metodología empleada en todos los casos es esencialmente cualitativa, fundamentada en el análisis de información secundaria e información primaria obtenida de entrevistas y grupos de discusión. Al ser la orientación del trabajo exploratoria, trata de proponer conceptos, apuntar hipótesis, identificar distintas dimensiones del objeto de estudio y distintos factores de los procesos estudiados, así como apuntar posibles conexiones entre ellos. Los resultados sugieren que las características y las formas de avanzar hacia una práctica de la cooperación política transformadora no son cuestiones tan distintas. La tesis revela también que la perspectiva política y transformadora que se sugiere es intrínsecamente problemática, llena de contradicciones, tensiones y paradojas. Lejos de ser resolubles, el trabajo invita a pensar que estas tensiones deberían más bien ser asumidas y manejadas como tales, ya que estarían en la propia / [CA] Dins l'àmbit dels estudis de la gestió del desenvolupament, s'ha articulat una crítica al sistema de cooperación al desenvolupament que a anat prenent importància i que posa al centre la qüestió del gerencialisme. Analitza com els nous llenguatges i lògiques del sector estarien despolititzant les qüestions del desenvolupament, que quedarien reduïdes a simples problemas tècnics i de gestió, manejables per experts que tindrien una total capacitat de control dels procesos. El gerencialisme evita qüestions d'economia política, de poder i de conflicte, per assumir la lògica, valors, discursos i procediments del sector privat (parlant així de qüestions com eficàcia, productes o impactes dels projectes de desenvolupament). En este procés, les organitzacions de desenvolupament, convertides en prestadores de servicis, haurien quedat cooptades per l'agenda neoliberal global, i les seues accions estarien reforçant relacions desiguals de poder. Sobre la base d'estes anàlisi, es poden obtindre elements per repensar la cooperació i el desenvolupament i resituar-los com a processos complexos, polítics i intrínsecament conflictius. A més, estes crítiques inviten a partir de la idea de que una perspectiva (re)polititzada deu ser també transformadora, de que les organitzacions de desenvolupament deuen reconéixer i valorar els coneiximents i projectes de vida i societat alternatius als dominants; contribuir a aprofundir en models alternatius de desenvolupament, més enllà del productivisme capitalista i la democràcia liberal de mercat, i situar els processos de canvi des de baix al centre. Es pot entendre també que dins el sistema de cooperació, encara que d'una manera minoritària i poc visible, persones i organitzacions de desenvolupament estarien construïnt discursos i pràctiques de la cooperació i el desenvolupament distints que, en lloc d'ésser funcionals a l'avanç del model neoliberal, l'estarien reptant. Per tant, els objectius d'esta tesi son, per una banda, explorar una possible caracterització d'una pràctica política i transformadora de la cooperació i el desenvolupament; per l'altra, explorar com es produeix i es pot promoure esta pràctica política i transformadora en diversos espais. El treball explora tres espais als quals estes pràctiqeus podrien estar donant-se i podrien ser promogudes. S'aproxima així a casos d'estudi vinculats a, en primer lloc, l'ensenyament formal, abordant el procés d'aprenentatge en un màster en gestió del desenvolupament. En segon lloc, la propia pràctica de la cooperació, analitzant com es produeixen aprenentatges de manera informal i emergent en relacions que vinculen organitzations de l'Estat espanyol amb aliats de l'Amèrica Llatina. Per últim, la incorporació de nous enfocaments de gestió en les organitzacions, tenint en compte els procesos i implicacions d'incorporar un enfocament basat en drets en organitzacions de l'Estat espanyol. La metodologia que s'ha utilitzat en tots els casos d'estudi és essencialment qualitativa, fonamentada en l'analisi d'informació secundària i d'informació primària obtinguda d'entrevistes i grups de discusió. Com que el treball té una orientació exploratòria, es tracta de proposar conceptes, apuntar hipòtesi, identificar dimensions de l'objecte d'estudi i distints factors dels procesos estudiats, així com possibles connexions entre ells. Els resultats suggereixen que les característiques i les formes d'avançar cap a una pràctica política y transformadora de la cooperació no són qüestions tan distintes. La tesi revela també que la perspectiva política i transformadora que es suggereix és intrínsecament problemàtica, plena de contradiccions, tensions i paradoxes. Lluny d'ésser resolubles, el treball invita a pensar que estes tensions deurien ésser assumides i manejades com a tals, ja que estarien en la pròpia essència del desenvolupament i el canvi social. / Belda Miquel, S. (2015). Del gerencialismo a la política: explorando las características, los espacios y los procesos de construcción de una práctica transformadora del desarrollo y la cooperación [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/57807 / Premios Extraordinarios de tesis doctorales / Compendio

The main objective of this research paper is to provide a comparative analy i of the manned space programs of the great space powers; Russia, the United States and China, those nations that have successfully launched human beings into orbit and brought them back to Earth. As space operations have become more complex and costly, these nations have sought expanded cooperation with each other and the minor space powers of the European Union, Japan, and India; nations that can conduct umnaimed launches. Current manned space efforts are heavily invested in areas where cooperation is a key concern. The International Space Station program consists of seven international partners, and there is a renewed push to send unmanned probes to the moo~ in preparation for future sustained manned missions, with Japan and China having already placed probes in lunar orbit and the United States, Russia, and India following in the near future. Cooperation in space endeavors, much like in any area of international policy, has its own benefits and challenges that are unique to each participant and this comparative analysis will present the view of these benefits and challenges from the perspective of each of the great space powers. This research then evaluates each of the great space powers in terms of its potential for successful international cooperation. A country tends to view its manned space program either from a political perspective, stressing national security and international prestige; or from an economic perspective, stressing industry growth and profit generation. It is believed that a country with the economic view of its program is more open to international cooperation, whereas a country with the political view will be less inclined to work with partners.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research study aims to analyze the illicit arms trade in states in transition. While both the study of the illicit arms trade and the study of states in transition per se, are characterized by a variety of concepts and debates within academia, this study attempts to establish a coherent and concise connection between the two. Therefore, the main research question is: How do the capacity gaps of social control, social welfare, border control and legitimacy contribute to the proliferation of the illicit arms trade in states in transition? For the purpose of this study, the researcher uses the theoretical framework based on capacity gaps and functional holes as outlined by Phil Williams (2002). Williams (2002) states that organized crime and transnational organized crime (TOC), which the illicit arms trade is a part of, flourish in states that are weakened by capacity gaps and where the accompanying functional holes open up the way for organized crime and TOC to work with impunity. The seven capacity gaps that Williams (2002) outlines are: social control, social welfare, business regulation, oversight and accountability, border control, legitimacy and electoral norms and patterns. However, this thesis does not focus on all seven capacity gaps; instead, only the capacity gaps of social control, social welfare, border control and legitimacy are analysed. This decision has been based on the literature by Williams (2002), Migdal (1988), Beck and Laeven (2006), who suggest that a state in transition cannot complete its transitional period and become a consolidated democracy if high levels of social control, social welfare, respect for the rule of law and legitimacy are not obtained. Moreover, this research study conducts a comparative analysis of two states in transition, South Africa and Croatia, which have both been experiencing difficulties with TOC and the illicit arms trade, and where both states still have not completed their transitional period, and are thus not consolidated democracies. This research does not imply that the findings of this study are applicable to all states in transition; the focus is rather on how the four capacity gaps and functional holes that this research focused on contribute to the proliferation of the illicit arms trade in South Africa and Croatia. The findings indicate that due to high levels of corruption within the judicial system and police, the citizens of South Africa and Croatia lack trust in the states’ capacity to impose social control, which in turn opens the way for organized criminal groups to work with impunity. Furthermore, the social welfare capacity gap contributes to the rise in levels of organized crime and the illicit arms trade due to the fact that levels of inequality and unemployment force the citizens of South Africa and Croatia to look for alternative survival strategies, usually those that organized criminal groups can provide them with. Moreover, the lack of resources and corruption among custom officials and police staff, serve as opportunities for organized criminal groups to traffic illicit goods over South Africa and Croatia’s borders; thus indicating a functional hole in the states interdictory capacity and an overall gap in the states capacity to control its borders. Lastly, due to the South African and Croatian citizens’ lack of trust in the institutions and the state apparatus in general, the capacity gap of legitimacy is visible. This in turn opens the way for organized criminal groups to use patron-client relationships with the citizens of South Africa and Croatia, in order to build and sustain a level of popular legitimacy that the state is lacking. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsingsprojek streef daarna om die onwettige handel in wapens as deel van transnasionale georganiseerde misdaad binne state in transisie te analiseer. Alhoewel navorsing in die onwettige handel van wapens, asook die studie van state in transisie gekenmerk word deur vele konsepte en debatte binne die velde; poog hierdie studie om die twee konsepte in ʼn duidelike en presiese manier te verbind. In die lig hiervan is die navorsings vraag: Hoe dra die kapasiteitsgapings van sosiale beheer, sosiale welvaart, grens kontrole en legitimiteit by tot die volhoubaarheid van die onwettige handel in wapens in state in transisie? Vir die doel van hierdie studie het die navorser besluit om gebruik te maak van die teoretiese raamwerk gebaseer op kapasiteitsgapings en funksionele-openinge soos beskryf deur Phil Williams (2002). Wiliams (2002) voer aan dat georganiseerde misdaad en transnasionale misdaad, waarvan die onwettige handel in wapens ʼn deel uitmaak, floreer in state wat verswak is deur kapasitietsgapings; en waar bygaande funksionele-openinge die weg baan vir transnasionale misdaad om te floreer. Die sewe kapasiteitsgapings soos deur Williams (2002) beskryf is: sosiale beheer, sosiale welvaart, besigheid-regulering, oorsig en aanspreeklikheid, grens kontrole, legitimiteit en verkiesings norme en patrone. Hierdie tesis fokus egter nie op al sewe kapasiteitsgapings nie. Daar word slegs gefokus op die kapasiteitsgapings van sosiale beheer, sosiale welvaart, grens kontrole en legitimiteit. Hierdie besluit is gebaseer op literatuur deur William (2002), Joel S. Migdal (1988), Thorsten Beck en Luc Laeven (2006) en dies meer wat voorstel dat ʼn staat in transisie nie die transisie periode kan voltooi en ʼn vaste demokrasie kan raak indien hoe vlakke van sosiale beheer, sosiale welvaart, respek vir wet en orde en legitimiteit nie verkry word nie. Verder maak hierdie navorsing gebruik van ʼn vergelykende analise tussen twee state in transisie: Suid Afrika en Kroasië. Beide hierdie state ervaar probleme met trans-nasionale misdaad en die onwettige handel in wapens. Beide het ook nog nie hul transisie periode voltooi nie en is dus nie vaste of gekonsolideerde demokrasieë nie. Hoewel die navorser nie aanvoer dat die bevindinge van hierdie studie van toepassing is op alle state in transisie nie, probeer die navorser vasstel hoe die vier kapasiteitsgapings en funksionele-openinge bydrae tot die volhoubaarheid van die onwettige handel in wapens in Suid Afrika en Kroasië. Die bevindinge dui daarop dat as gevolg van hoë vlakke van korrupsie binne die regstelsel en polisie, die bevolking van Suid Afrika en Kroasië nie die staat se kapasiteit om sosiale beheer te handhaaf, vertrou nie. Dit maak die gaping oop vir georganiseerde misdaad om sonder teenkant te handel. Verder, die sosiale welvaart gaping, dra by tot die toename in die vlakke van georganiseerde misdaad en die onwettige handel in wapens as gevolg van hoë vlakke van ongelykheid en armoede, wat die bevolking van Suid Afrika en Kroasië dwing tot alternatiewe metodes van oorlewing wat gewoonlik deur georganiseerde misdaad groepe verskaf word. Verder, die gebrek aan toerusting en ook korrupsie binne grensbeheer en polisie lede, verskaf die geleentheid vir georganiseerde misdaad groepe om in onwettige goedere te handel. Dit dui op die funksionele gaping in die staat se beheersmeganismes en oor die algemeen ʼn gaping in die staat se kapasiteit om grense te beheer. Ten laaste, as gevolg van die gebrek aan vertroue van die bevolking in die strukture van die staat Suid Afrika en Kroasië is die kapasitietsgaping van legitimiteit duidelik teenwoordig. Dit open die weg vir georganiseerde misdaad groepe om populêre gesag op te bou, wat daar nie is by die regering van die lande nie.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The 2008 global economic crisis marks the beginning of considerable systemic changes in global governance. The ‘Group of 20’ (G20), which entered the centre stage of global governance in response to the crisis, may be seen as both a result of and as a vehicle for those changes. Representing some 85 per cent of the global economy the group has the potential to alter the international order almost by stealth. Hence, there is good reason for undertaking a deeper examination of its role in and impact on global governance. This study critically examines some of the changes in global governance embodied – and brought about – by the G20. By using analytical tools from the critical theory of Robert Cox and constructivism, it studies changes in three dimensions of global governance: the material, the institutional and the ideational, so as to achieve a holistic understanding of the nature of the changes taking place within global governance. In so doing, the study sheds light on the role of the G20 in global governance, the impact of the group on global cooperation and the nature of the shift in global governance that it represents. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die 2008 globale ekonomiese krisis kan as die begin van aansienlike sistemiese veranderinge in globale regeerkunde beskou word. Die 'Groep van 20' (G20), wat in reaksie op die krisis ’n sentrale rol in globale regeerkunde ingeneem het, kan as beide 'n resultaat en drywer van hierdie veranderinge gesien word. Die groep verteenwoordig ongeveer 85 persent van die globale ekonomie, en het dus die potensiaal om grootskaalse verandering in die internasionale orde te weeg te bring. Dit is dus belangrik om die groep se rol in globale regeerkunde meer deeglik te ondersoek. Deur gebruik te maak van analitiese metodes wat gebasseer is op die kritiese teorie van Robert Cox asook konstruktivisme, ondersoek hierdie studie veranderinge in drie dimensies van globale regeerkunde. Materiële en institusionele veranderinge, asook veranderinge binne die dimensie van idees, word geïdentifiseer met die oog op 'n meer holistiese begrip van die aard van die veranderinge. Die studie werp daardeur lig op die rol van die G20 in globale regeerkunde, die groep se impak op globale samewerking, en die aard van die magsverskuiwing in globale regeerkunde wat dit verteenwoordig.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this era of globalisation, the world is becoming more economically, politically and ecologically interdependent, that is, there is a growing mutual vulnerability between actors. The conditions of growing interdependence produce specific challenging circumstances for the achievement of particular goals, -includinq that of sustainable development. The Southern African context holds further obstacles to such development, which include poverty, inequality, a history of racial conflict and colonialism, and a regional economy on the semi-periphery of the global economy. It is my assertion that it is in the mutual self-interest of states and other stakeholders (e.g. communities) to approach this dilemma through transnational co-operation under the ethical umbrella of sustainable development. Thus this thesis seeks to discover to what extent the construction of Transborder Conservation Areas (TBCAs), relatively large areas which straddle the borders between two or more countries and cover natural systems incorporating one or more protected areas, can meet the criteria of sustainable development, given these conditions. The three primary criteria used for measuring sustainable development are community-based development; close linkages between the environment and development; and co-operation on all levels. The Kgalagadi TBCA, formally recognised on the 7th of April 1999 between South Africa and Botswana, serves as the case study. The conceptual framework used for the analysis is a theory of cooperation, as it applies to the field of International Relations. The key concepts employed here are those of interdependence, co-operation, sustainable development and institutionalisation. The research centers around three key issues: If sustainable development is the way forward for Southern Africa, do TBCAs reflect and fulfill the criteria as set forth by sustainable development? What does the experience of TBCAs in Southern Africa tell us about co-operation, recognising that TBCAs can only succeed if it has a sound base in the awareness and engagement of people? And, how best can decision-makers go about establishing TBCAs? Ultimately the thesis is a call to Southern African countries to embrace this new form of utilising the environment. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie era van globalisering is die wêreld besig om ekonomies, polities en ekologies meer interafhanklik te word, met ander woorde, daar is 'n toenemende wedersydse kwesbaarheid tussen akteurs. Toenemende interafhanklikheid produseer spesifieke uitdagings ten opsigte van die bereiking van sekere doelwitte, insluitend volgehoue ontwikkeling. Daar is besondere hindernisse op die weg na volgehoue ontwikkeling in Suidelike Afrika, is byvoorbeeld armoede, ongelykheid, en verlede gekenmerk deur rassekonflik en kolonialisme, asook en regionale ekonomie op die semi-periferie van die globale ekonomie. Dit is in die wedersydse belang van state en ander betrokke partye (bv. gemeenskappe) om hierdie dilemma te benader deur middel van transnasionale samewerking onder die etiese sambreel van volgehoue ontwikkeling. Hierdie tesis probeer vasstel tot watter mate die skep van Transnasionale Bewaringsgbiede, of sogenaamde "Vredesparke" (Transborder Conservation Areas = TBCAs), d.w.s. relatiewe groot areas aan weerskante van die grens(-e) tussen twee of meer lance en wat natuurlike stelsels dek wat ten minste een beskermde gebied inkorporeer, kan voldoen aan die kriteria vir volgehoue ontwikkeling, gegewe die bogenoemde konteks. Die drie primêre kriteria wat gebruik word om volgehoue ontwikkeling te meet is gemeenskapsgebaseerde ontwikkeling; die hegtheid van die verhouding tussen die omgewing en ontwikkeling; en samewerking op alle vlakke. Die Kgalagadi TBCA, amptelik op 7 April 1999 tussen Suid-Afrika en Botswana erken, dien as die gevallestudie. Die konseptueie raamwerk wat gebruik word in die analise is 'n teorie van samewerking, soos dit van toepassing is op die veld van Internasionale Betrekkinge. Die sleutelkonsepte wat gebruik word is interafhanklikheid, samewerking, volgehoue ontwikkeling en institusionalisering. Die navorsing sentreer rondom drie sleutelkwessies: lndien volgehoue ontwikkeling die weg vorentoe vir Suidelike Afrika is, weerspiëel en voldoen TBCAs aan die vereistes van volgehoue ontwikkeling? Wat kan ons wys raak oor samewerking na aanleiding van ons ervaring van TBCAs in Suidelike Afrika, gegewe dat TBCAs slegs kan slaag indien dit gefundeer is op gemeenskapsbewustheid- en deelname? Laastens, wat is die beste manier waarvolgens besluitnemers TBCAs kan vestig? Ten slotte is hierdie studie 'n beroep op die besluitnemers In Suidelike Afrika om hierdie nuwe wyse waarop die omgewing benut kan word, te ondersteun.