In today’s Development environment, characterised by a scarcity of resources for projects and interventions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) must fiercely compete for funds. This has led NGOs to adhere to the donor’s narrative, language and Neoliberal values – with storytelling assuming a prominent position – potentially creating stereotyping issues in their communication outputs – while also facing the contrasting forces of market, state and communities. This thesis focuses on the case-study of the Bijli project, an energy access initiative for rural villages in India, created by The Climate Group – an important actor in the field and the charity where the author of this thesis still works. After a quick analysis of how the energy issue has shaped development in India, this work uses the academic tools of Discourse Analysis and Representation to examine the issues of stereotypes and marginalisation in the video produced by The Climate Group at the end of the Bijli program. Then, the ‘lessons learned’ have been applied to the video script for a new, potential video for a similar project that The Climate Group is now developing. Finally, such empirical application has shown how the issues arisen in the analysis relate to the modern debate in the Communication for Development field and how these new partnerships both challenge and reinforce the existing power relationships in the current Neoliberal climate. A more participatory, inclusive model could help the Global North audience better understand the reality in which it wants to intervene, but at the same time state and market are two powerful, useful actors to bring a more equitable development.

Yes

Yes

Yes / The rule of law, that is, the fair, competent, effective, and predictable application of laws that enhance, rather than undermine, social accountability and fundamental human rights, is a core function of the state, and forms part of its social contract with the citizenry. However, ensuring that a government upholds the rule of law requires a number of checks and balances. Some of this accountability and enforcement function lies with the other branches of government: oversight of the executive by the legislative branch through its committees and reports, and by the judiciary, which has its own proactive powers and can be petitioned by citizens and their representatives. But this republican structure can still be unresponsive or resistant to scrutiny, particularly when elites across the branches of government are indifferent to, or collude in, maintaining chronic problems in the justice system. Active non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are therefore recognised as a crucial component in the effective application of the rule of law due to their independence from government and their often-different perspective on the impact of unevenly applied and unjust laws and law enforcement through direct contact with the victims of arbitrary treatment. This chapter explores ways in which NGOs (both international and local) can contribute to strengthening rule of law through a case study of how the Open Society Institute and its Justice Initiative (OSJI) and a network of Brazilian NGOs developed a campaign to reduce the excessive use of pre-trial detention. It demonstrates how NGOs can fulfil important watchdog functions and are able to change laws, policies and practices that significantly improve the rule of law by working strategically with one another, with international partners and with sympathetic state actors.

One of the elements that have often been neglected in the study of foreign policy is the role of norms and ideas. While human rights standards were formalized and became to be recognized as an international norm, it is still not clear whether or how human rights affect the foreign policy of specific states. In the case of Japan, its foreign policy is often characterized by hesitance to take decisive action for human rights and its dictation by economic interest. In this paper the influnece of human rights on Japanese foreign policy is examined through the study of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Japanese politics, as new political actors that speak for the norm of international human rights in Japanese politics. Japanese NGOs have achieved a dramatic development in the 1980s and 1990s, and today they are recognized as important entities in Japanese society. NGOs adopt various strategies and tactics to influnence Japan s decision making in foreign policy to challenge the political environment that consists of Japan s hesitance in the area of human rights and the strong influence of the business sector. Case studies examine active NGOs networks in Japan that work for human rights and democracy in East Timor and Burma and include an in-depth analysis of their operation styles, foci, and organizations. / Master of Arts

Classical approaches to conflict resolution assume that inducing conflict parties to analyse conflict constellations precipitates that the disputants recognise mutually shared needs or interests. Partially in critical reaction towards this assumption, a more recently emerging approach envisages setting up a communicative framework within which the conflict parties are supposed to harmonise their conceptualisations of the conflict. This dissertation, in contrast, argues that work within the frameworks of these classes of approaches is impolitic as long as war-related hostilities stay intact, since conflict parties which see the existence of the adversary as the core of the problem are unlikely to engage in a process of open communication or open analysis, so that trustbuilding is a sine qua non. Practice experiences of local NGOs in the former Yugoslavia suggest that the following activities can be conducive to trustbuilding: 1) supporting exchanges on personalising information, so that the internal heterogeneity of the opponent's group is rendered visible; 2) bringing intergroup iii commonalities to the foreground, either through cooperation on shared aspirations, or by unearthing interpersonal overlaps e.g. common feelings, values, and war-related experiences; 3) undermining the imagination of the own side's moral superiority by fostering the recognition of crimes and suffering inflicted by the own side. For those cultural and religious differences which persist after basic trustbuilding, a contingency approach is proposed: 1) Fostering the exploration of commonalities and differences; 2) If disagreements remain despite a better basic understanding, tolerance of these difference can be based on a better understanding of the values' background, and on an acceptance of differing beliefs as equal in valence; 3) Supporting the discovery of joint values to raise awareness for options of cohabitation with differences; disagreements which cannot be solved might be continued within an accepted communicative framework based on these shared values.

Classical approaches to conflict resolution assume that inducing conflict parties to analyse conflict constellations precipitates that the disputants recognise mutually shared needs or interests. Partially in critical reaction towards this assumption, a more recently emerging approach envisages setting up a communicative framework within which the conflict parties are supposed to harmonise their conceptualisations of the conflict. This dissertation, in contrast, argues that work within the frameworks of these classes of approaches is impolitic as long as war-related hostilities stay intact, since conflict parties which see the existence of the adversary as the core of the problem are unlikely to engage in a process of open communication or open analysis, so that trustbuilding is a sine qua non. Practice experiences of local NGOs in the former Yugoslavia suggest that the following activities can be conducive to trustbuilding: 1) supporting exchanges on personalising information, so that the internal heterogeneity of the opponent¿s group is rendered visible; 2) bringing intergroup iii commonalities to the foreground, either through cooperation on shared aspirations, or by unearthing interpersonal overlaps e.g. common feelings, values, and war-related experiences; 3) undermining the imagination of the own side¿s moral superiority by fostering the recognition of crimes and suffering inflicted by the own side. For those cultural and religious differences which persist after basic trustbuilding, a contingency approach is proposed: 1) Fostering the exploration of commonalities and differences; 2) If disagreements remain despite a better basic understanding, tolerance of these difference can be based on a better understanding of the values¿ background, and on an acceptance of differing beliefs as equal in valence; 3) Supporting the discovery of joint values to raise awareness for options of cohabitation with differences; disagreements which cannot be solved might be continued within an accepted communicative framework based on these shared values.

Previous research on expatriation has focused principally on managers in multi-national corporations. However, there is an acknowledged need to disaggregate the expatriate population in order to recognise the different contexts in which expatriation takes place. This thesis focuses on expatriation within the context of international development, evaluating the process and outcome of sociocultural adjustment in individual development workers. Development workers are an important type of expatriate to study. Their ability to adjust effectively to host cultures is increasingly important as NGOs face growing competition for funds alongside greater calls for accountability and increased demand for their services. Moreover, development work is theoretically challenging as a result of close contact with host nationals, a greater degree of cultural distance between home and host cultures, and the witnessing of poverty and inequity. A mixed method approach was employed in this thesis. Semi-structured interviews were used to evaluate the sociocultural adjustment experiences of expatriate development workers together with reflections on the contribution of their sending organisations. A postal survey was subsequently used to examine recruitment, selection and cross-cultural training practices in a broader sample of UK-based NGOs. This thesis makes its contribution by evaluating sociocultural adjustment in an under-researched expatriation context that is argued to be especially challenging both for the sending organisations and the individual expatriates. The findings identify a number of specific challenges, and provide a rich insight into the way in which these combine to influence the sociocultural adjustment of expatriate development workers and the adjustment outcomes that they achieve. Despite being a challenging context, the development workers in this study had all reached positive adjustment outcomes. The role of sending organisations was also examined, which indicated that recruitment, selection and cross-cultural training practices were shaped by pragmatic considerations. This was evidenced by an emphasis on recruitment sources and selection criteria that sought to identify qualified and experienced individuals with minimal training needs. Cross-cultural training focused on the provision of project and organisational inductions, supporting this interpretation. The findings led to the proposal of a model of sociocultural adjustment in expatriate development workers. The model emphasises the need to balance the use of other expatriates as a support mechanism with the effect of this on the individual’s relationship with host nationals. The model also identifies several factors that can simultaneously create tensions between expatriates and host nationals whilst driving the expatriate to seek support from other expatriates.

This thesis examines grassroots peace building in Kosovo during the period 2001 - 2008 and seeks to understand how international actors have best supported, or otherwise, a process of deepening peace at this level. The research centres on analysis of thirty-three in-depth interviews with the main actors from this field. Through analysing interpretations of peace and peace building in Kosovo, I identify a contradiction between on the one hand, the dominant approach of building peace through relationships (favoured by international actors); and on the other, the need for peace to address personal needs. This means helping individuals come to terms with the past, and affecting a broader normalization of people’s everyday lives. I assert that a ‘deepening’ of peace in Kosovo will ultimately come about through offering young people more opportunities to ‘open up their hearts and minds’ - to broaden their horizons in ways that they feel empowered to view themselves and the world around them through a critical lens. This research identifies negative attitudes and behaviours amongst external actors in Kosovo, and illustrates how our personal qualities and conduct are of primary importance when it comes to peace building. In doing so, I identify a need for a higher level of self-awareness, commitment and empathy amongst external actors. Whilst reports have emerged which seek to evaluate the impact of peace building in Kosovo, this research examines the experiences of those engaged in such endeavours and encompasses a strong story-telling element. It also seeks to ground the issues at stake within a broader understanding of Kosovo’s social and historical landscape.

This study analyzes and maps barriers preventing Sri Lankan female workers in Export Processing Zones (EPZs) from participating in awareness raising activities by NGOs. These barriers can furthermore be discussed as preventing them from an enhanced empowerment. The gathered data is mostly based on interviews conducted during a three-week long fieldtrip in Sri Lanka. By using both a literature analysis on the field of research together with group interviews with both female EPZ workers as well as with personnel from a women’s organization in Sri Lanka the study identifies five barriers hindering the women’s participation; time and distance; lack of motivation or interest; limited knowledge of the organization; someone opposing the choice; and fear of loosing the employment. The study derives the root-causes of the barriers to the current social norms and roles, which are internalized in the young women’s mind from their background as well as through the reproduction of them in their new environment, but also to EPZs as discouraging an improvement of the women’s situation.