CPS Quarterly October

CPS Quarterly March 2018 CPS Quarterly Volume 5 Number 4 December 2018 • Note From CPS………………………………………………………………………….......1 Dr. Imran Syed • Editorial Note……………………………………………………………………………......1 Dr. Zahara Bukhari • Policy and the Development of Civic Values through Education………………………..2 Dr. Imran Syed • The uses of Alternate energy resources available apart from hydroelectric power plants that can help deplete the energy crisis in Pakistan………………………………..4 Dr. Zahara Bukhari • Electocracy and Public Policy Paradoxes? Elections, Austerity and Anti-Corruption strategies in Pakistan………………………………………………………………………11 Dr. Muhammad Shakeel Ahmad • Impact of Poverty on Economic and Political Outlook of Pakistan…………………….14 Dr. Saeed Anwar • Policy perspective of youth Volunteerism in Pakistan…………………………………..18 Abaid Ullah • The Super Ministry Approach to Coordination and Governance……………………...21 Umar Sheraz A publication of the Centre for Policy Studies COMSATS University Islamabad CPS Quarterly December 2018 CPS Quarterly December 2018 Note from CPS This is the fourth issue of the CPS Quarterly in 2018 and this issue wraps up a very successful year for the publication. During 2018, the CPS Quarterly was able to put forth more than twenty policy briefs. These briefs covered a diverse range of policy areas, such as, ethics, elections, governance, migration, foreign policy, the environment, etc. The success of the CPS Quarterly in 2018 was because of the special efforts of the editor, Dr. Zahara Bukhari; the designer, Tahir Aslam; and the CPS staff members who wrote for the Quarterly. Nice work! The previous issues of the CPS Quarterly are available electronically on the CPS website at http://ww3.comsats.edu.pk/cps/. Dr. Imran Syed Head CPS Editorial Note The Center of Policy Studies (CPS) focuses on coherent and practicable responses on issues of public interest of policy makers. The CPS Quarterly helps support appropriate recommendations and policy options through sound theoretical and empirical research and global best practices in public policy analysis and management. The Quarterly helps create and execute a research agenda that promotes rigorous evidence-based public policy-making, analysis, and its implementation. Its agenda is to serve as a bridge between various stakeholders such as the academia, industry and Government for promotion of evidence-based policy research carried out by qualified and knowledgeable faculty and experts with the aim to promote the public awareness. This issue of the Quarterly presents policy related research in six articles. The first is about, Policy and the Development of Civic Values through Education, by Dr. Imran Syed, Head, CPS. The second is Impact of Poverty on Economic and Political outlook of Pakistan, by Dr. Saeed Anwar. The third is The Super Ministry Approach to Coordination and Governance, by Umar Sheraz. The fourth is Policy Perspective of Youth Volunteerism in Pakistan, by Abaid Ullah. The fifth is Electocracy and Public Policy Paradoxes? Elections, Austerity and Anti-Corruption strategies in Pakistan, by Dr. Shakeel Ahmad. The sixth is about The uses of Alternate energy resources available apart from hydroelectric power plants that can help deplete the energy crisis in Pakistan, by Dr. Zahara Bukhari. Dr. Zahara Bukhari Editor Disclaimer: The views expressed in this publication are the views of the writers and are not necessarily the views of CPS or Comsats University, Islamabad 1 CPS Quarterly December 2018 Policy and the Development of Civic Values through Education. By Dr. Imran Syed, Head, Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) Summary Civic values can be important in influencing the attitudes individuals hold towards community life in general and, in particular, towards duties and responsibilities of individuals as citizens. This policy brief selectively traces some of the historical thinking on the concept of civic values as it develops from antiquity and evolves through the Renaissance. The brief builds the discussion towards the Pakistani context and focuses on how civic values can be important for the improvement of the lives of Pakistanis, especially, through an appropriate form of civic education. There can be many sources that contribute to the shaping of civic values and this brief look at educational institutions as a potent vehicle to shape civic values. The brief does not specifically recommend any particular values per se, however, it does recommend that the government undertake an inclusive process that looks at arriving at those civic values that may be important to cultivate in Pakistan, especially among the youth. The brief further recommends that once the values have been identified then effective means and methods be looked at for promoting these civic values, including them through schools and other educational institutions. Background Attitudes and actions in communities and societies are anchored in prevailing norms and values. These values and norms, in-turn, inform individual choices in relation to work ethics, social capital, political participation, community support, conflict resolution, tolerance, etc. At the outset, it is important to clarify the definitions of the key concepts that this policy brief is addressing. Civics can be defined as a “social science dealing with the rights and duties of citizens” (www.merriam-webster.com) and Civic Education, broadly speaking, is being used in this policy brief to mean “all the processes that affect people’s beliefs, commitments, capabilities, and actions as members or prospective members of communities” (Stanford-Plato Encyclopedia). These rather broad definitions leave much room for discovering, discussing and deciding which values are important for a given community. To better understand the formation and transmission of norms and values it is useful to view these processes as an ongoing process that can be formal or informal, intentional or incidental, constructive or destructive, etc. The establishment of values can be influenced from a variety of sources, such as, parents, peers, relatives, community leaders, politicians, public intellectuals, the media, the government, etc. An important source for establishing and transmitting values are educational institutions: schools, colleges and universities. History The concern with civic education and citizenship can clearly be seen in the thinking of the Western philosophers of antiquity. Among the works of the classical Greek philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, there is much thinking on what is and what should be the nature of politics and citizenry. The Renaissance period thinkers continued to debate the concerns around civics. Among others, interesting is the work done by English philosopher and economist, John Stuart Mill in the 19th century. Mill wrote a number of books on politics and ethics, notable, for our discussion, is his 1861 book Considerations on Representative Government. In this book Mill places moral importance on the self-development of the individual and provides support for an inclusive and representative democracy (www.britannica.com). Mill talks about the development of human beings as being critical to progress and also mentions certain individual qualities that he feels can be consequential, such as, mental activity, enterprise, and courage (Mill 1873). This mentioning of specific qualities as identified by Mill, is primarily to instantiate, in concrete terms, the thinking that has been carried out by Western thinkers on the subject of civic values. This brief is not focused on arriving at a list of desirable values but, firstly, more on recognizing the influence of civic values; then, secondly, on the importance of cultivating civic values; and finally, on the process that policy makers and influencers in Pakistan can undertake to explore, develop and eventually promote appropriate civic values. Europe’s Recent Experience With globalization, growing inequality, poverty and conflict, there are an increasing number of migrants and refugees in the world. With the greater movement of population, especially from developing countries to the 2 CPS Quarterly December 2018 developed countries, there has been a renewed interest in discussion about the importance of identifying and cultivating values that will promote accommodation and harmony among diverse populations. Recently, in Europe there has been some interesting work done on those skills and competencies that along with improving the extent of personal fulfillment also improve an individual’s engagement with society (DG Education and Culture 2006). Some of the civic values that have been identified as important in the context of the European Union, and associated with the liberal Western model, include political participation, due process of law, service to the community, etc. The Concept and Pakistan’s Context This brief takes the position that civic values are important and they can play a major role in shaping the quality of life in a community. The brief description of selected aspects of the historical discussion about civic values and the more recent deliberate attempts to foster collective civic values in the European context, underscore the recognition internationally of the importance of cultivating civic values. This brief takes the position that civic values are best driven by the local context and have to be of relevance to a particular community. The discussion of what constitutes a community can also be very pertinent. Here the brief focuses on the nation-state as a community that

Load more