No abstract available. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / gm2014 / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

This study is situated within an International Political Economy (IPE) approach and centres on an analysis of the World Bank’s ‘development knowledge’. This is a term used in the dissertation to describe the pool of knowledge and understanding linked to development which the World Bank produces. The study also incorporates a case study of the World Bank’s development partnership with South Africa, particularly through the 2008 - 2012 Country Partnership Strategy (CPS). The World Bank- South Africa partnership is characterised by a knowledge sharing approach. Importantly, the study aims to provide an understanding of the ideology and norms that underpin the World Bank’s development knowledge. Reviewed literature points toward a preferred neo-liberal ideology of development knowledge in the Bank; this is the departure point for this study’s analysis. The study is based on two levels of analysis, examined through a critical theoretical framework and discourse analysis as a methodological tool. The first level of analysis considers the structural power dynamics in the international arena which influence the ideology of development knowledge in the Bank. This study categorises these power dynamics as internal and external levers of power. The former has more to do with the Bank’s financial clout and intellectual leadership, while the latter considers the influence of powerful states, particularly the United States of America (USA), over the production of development knowledge in the World Bank. The dissertation suggests that these levers of power establish the transmission mechanisms which diffuse the ideas of powerful actors into the development knowledge of the Bank, while limiting the influence of less powerful actors. The second level of analysis, which is the South Africa case study, aims to ascertain the presence or lack of a ‘normative convergence’ on development ideals between the World Bank and South Africa. Normative convergence means shared or unified beliefs relating to how development is conceptualised between South Africa and the World Bank. The aim of this level of analysis is to identify how the presence or lack of normative convergence bears upon the efficacy of the Bank’s knowledge sharing approach in the case of South Africa. The study concludes that there is evidence which points to a neo-liberal paradigm of development within the World Bank and South Africa. A normative convergence on development ideals between the World Bank and South Africa thus exists. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Political Sciences / MA / Unrestricted

IMF and World Bank Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) include conditional loans granted to developing countries to help them repay their debts while requiring them to undergo specific economic and political reforms. The most common SAP measures include the devaluation of currency, the reduction of public sector size and activities, the removal of subsidies, and the liberalization of trade. While the social impacts of these policies have already been acknowledged and to some degree mitigated, this paper examines their environmental impacts. The various impacts of structural adjustment on the environment are discussed in the framework of four main aspects of SAPs: export promotion, trade liberalization, the shrinking of the state, and increased poverty. <p> This paper argues that the macroeconomic policies promoted by structural adjustment have several direct and indirect impacts on the environment of borrowing countries. Further, without careful consideration of the environmental impacts, degradation is often the result. However, the fundamentally different perspectives and values on debt and development used by the IMF and World Bank and their critics may explain the differences in their conclusions on adjustment. As the IMF and the World Bank are currently experiencing a shift in the way they interact with borrowing countries to emphasize poverty reduction and country ownership of policies, it is possible that this will allow for more systematic and integrated approaches to addressing debt as well as long-term development. In order to minimize unintended harm to the natural resource base of these countries, economic, social and environmental issues should be addressed together. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

There is a growing body of literature arguing that NGOs are an important tool in the efforts of civil society to influence the actions of the State, especially in the process of economic development. NGOs are primarily seen as effective advocates for the less privileged sectors of civil society. This study examines the influence of local NGOs participation in the implementation of PLANAFLORO, a regional economic development program partially funded by the World Bank in the Brazilian state of Rondônia. This study focuses on four issues that are commonly used to justify the inclusion of NGOs in the development process: representativeness, accountability, autonomy and effectiveness. This study relies on three basic methods of data gathering: focused interviews of key informants, questionnaire-based surveys of different stake-holder groups, and information from secondary sources. This study’s results challenge the common wisdom regarding the positive impacts of NGO participation in economic development programs, and on their contribution to democratic governance. NGOs participating in PLANAFLORO faced great institutional and political difficulties in the process of participation. Many NGOs did not have either the institutional capabilities or the financial autonomy to influence the process of policy-making in PLANAFLORO effectively. Moreover, most NGOs did not have mechanisms of accountability to inform the program’s intended beneficiaries of the state of PLANAFLORO’s implementation. Finally, both the local State and the World Bank only reluctantly accepted the participation of NGOs in PLANAFLORO. This fact served to greatly limit the contribution of NGOs in PLANAFLORO. / Ph. D.

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No / This paper assesses the economic and political determinants of IMF and World Bank program loans to the Middle East and North Africa. First we assess what is already known about the geo-political influences on aid flows to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the potential for this to operate via the IMF and World Bank. From this we conclude that there is scope for IMF and World Bank lending in the region to respond to the political interests of their major shareholders, particularly the United States. We support these arguments with both a qualitative and a quantitative analysis of the determinants of World Bank and IMF program lending to the region, focusing on both economic need in the MENA countries and the politics of donor interest before concluding.

The primary objective of the international initiative, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), is to conserve carbon by protecting forests and/or planting trees. The World Bank's Forest Partnership Carbon Facility (FPCF) introduced the REDD+ program to Costa Rica in 2008 and consultation with key stakeholders has been ongoing since. The major participants involved in the program include small landowners, representatives of the timber industry, and indigenous nations. Notwithstanding some native groups' opposition to and misunderstanding of the REDD+ program, the Costa Rican government signed an agreement with the World Bank (WB) in 2013 guaranteeing the sale of up to $63 million in carbon credits through the REDD+ program (World Bank, 2013). The government of Costa Rica has plans to continue implementing the initiative, despite the intense opposition of a number of Bribris, an indigenous group located in Talamanca in the eastern portion of the country near the border with Panama. The Bribri are also the largest native population in Costa Rica. This inquiry samples indigenous peoples' perspectives, specifically the Bribris from Talamanca and the Ngäbes from Abrojos Montezuma, concerning key elements of the REDD+ program to understand more fully why they perceive the program the way they do. The principal findings of this study concerning those views include the following: the government has violated indigenous people's rights throughout the REDD+ implementation process, many interview respondents remarked that they lacked information about REDD+, feared privatization of their land, and were opposed to the initiative's commodification of natural resources. These results illuminate key policy and implementation concerns that could inform government and World Bank policy, while also providing study participants an opportunity to exercise individual agency concerning the topic. This research contributes to the growing body of literature about REDD+ by providing the first-hand perceptions of members of Costa Rican indigenous communities of the initiative and their stated reasons for those views. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning / The main goal of the international initiative, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), is to conserve carbon by protecting forests and/or planting trees. The World Bank’s Forest Partnership Carbon Facility (FPCF) introduced the REDD+ program to Costa Rica in 2008 and has engaged in a process of consultation and information sessions with small landowners and representatives of the timber industry and indigenous nations. The Costa Rican government signed an agreement with the World Bank (WB) in 2013 guaranteeing the sale of up to $63 million in carbon credits via the program and the government appears to be relying on indigenous peoples’ land because indigenous territories comprise some 20% of the country’s forested lands (Government of Costa Rica, 2015; World Bank, 2013). Moreover, some native groups, including the Bribris, the largest indigenous group in the nation, located in Talamanca in the eastern portion of the country near the border with Panama, have publicly opposed doing so (World Bank, 2013). This study explored indigenous peoples’ perspectives, specifically the Bribris from Talamanca and the Ngäbes from Abrojos Montezuma, concerning key elements of the REDD+ program to understand better why they perceive the program as they do. Key findings from those interviews include the fact that the government has violated indigenous people’s rights throughout the REDD+ implementation process and that many native residents lacked information about the program and feared privatization of their land. In addition, many of those interviewed were opposed to the initiative’s basic premise; the commodification of natural resources. These results highlight key REDD+ policy design and implementation concerns in Costa Rica that could inform both government and World Bank policy in that nation. More generally, this research contributes to a growing body of literature concerning REDD+ and indigenous peoples. The findings offered here may now be compared to those of other analyses investigating the purport of this initiative from the vantage point of native peoples of other developing nations.

<p><font face="Times New Roman"><font face="Times New Roman"> <p align="left">As a case study, the paper analyzes the Bank&rsquo / s role in the Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Oil Pipeline project (the project) in which the Bank has been involved since the year 2000. The paper presents the lessons, challenges and implications from this protection of human rights.</p> </font></font></p>