Civil Society and Governance in the Pacific (original) (raw)

Good governance - a term largely popularized by the World Bank - is now upheld as the cornerstone of aid and development programming, both in Australia and internationally. Australia's Pacific 2020 recognizes that governance fundamentally impacts upon development processes and that poor political governance inhibits economic growth and undermines the efficacy of the aid program, so much so that improving political governance is perhaps the most important long-term challenge facing the Pacific Island countries between now and 2020. However, while it is widely acknowledged that governance significantly impacts upon aid effectiveness, it is also acknowledged that aid is a very weak instrument for improving governance. This briefing provides a summary of 'Strengthening Civil Society to Build Demand for Better Governance in the Pacific: Literature Review and Analysis of Good Practice and Lessons Learned' - a research paper prepared by Dr Nicole Haley for AusAID. This work is ...