Programme Enhancing the Effectiveness of Parliaments: Challenges and Opportunities
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PROGRAMME ENHANCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PARLIAMENTS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Monday 27 - Thursday 30 October 2008 934th WILTON PARK CONFERENCE in cooperation with: Department for International Development, World Bank Institute Commonwealth Parliamentary Association In association with: Parliamentary Centre, Westminster Foundation for Democracy MONDAY 27 OCTOBER INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME TO WILTON PARK 1500 Roger WILLIAMSON Programme Director, Wilton Park WELCOME AND BRIEF THEMATIC INTRODUCTION Mark ROBINSON Head of Governance and Social Development Group, Department for International Development (DFID), London Rick STAPENHURST Senior Public Sector Management Specialist, Governance Team, World Bank Institute, Washington DC 1515-1630 1 PROMOTING PARLIAMENTARY EFFECTIVENESS; THE CURRENT STATE OF PLAY AND THE ROAD AHEAD Objective: To set the scene by evaluating the role of parliaments in different contexts, assessing evolving international experience and outlining opportunities/challenges for those involved in parliamentary strengthening. The session should seek to signpost key issues which will be discussed in more depth throughout the conference. Key questions include: What accounts for the key differences in parliamentary performance in different contexts? Why do some parliaments become powerful forces for change in particular contexts while others do not? What are the informal and formal political processes which shape the effectiveness of parliaments? To what extent are weaknesses in parliamentary effectiveness susceptible to technical fixes and other types of “capacity-building”? Roger WILLIAMSON (Chair) Programme Director, Wilton Park WHY SOME LEGISLATURES DEVELOP WHILE OTHERS DO NOT: AFRICAN LEGISLATURES AND THE “THIRD WAVE” OF DEMOCRATISATION Joel D BARKAN Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science and Senior Associate, Centre for Strategic International Studies, University of Iowa, Washington DC PROMOTING PARLIAMENTARY EFFECTIVENESS: OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION Vidar HELGESEN Secretary-General, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), Stockholm 1630-1715 Tea, coffee and conference photograph 1715-1845 2 PARLIAMENTS STRENGTHENING INITIATIVES: LESSONS LEARNT AND GOOD PRACTICE Objective: To take stock of emerging lessons and best practice parliamentary strengthening initiatives from both a donor and recipient perspective. And to consider the implications of the Paris Declaration and the recent Accra High Level forum for relationships between donors, partner governments and parliaments. Key questions include: What are the key lessons to be derived from the last decade or so of parliamentary strengthening programmes? Are parliamentary programmes owned/led by national legislatures? Is donor support effectively co-ordinated? To what extent do parliaments participate in the broader aid dialogue between donors and partner countries? What are the implications of the Accra agenda for the role of parliaments in aid processes? How effective are donors in linking support to parliaments with broader democratic institution-building activities? Mark ROBINSON (Chair) Head of Governance and Social Development Group, Department for International Development (DFID), London WBI PARLIAMENTARY STRENGTHENING – LESSONS LEARNED AND POINTERS FOR THE FUTURE Rick STAPENHURST Senior Public Sector Specialist, Governance Team, World Bank Institute, Washington DC UNDP AND PARLIAMENTARY DEVELOPMENT: LESSONS LEARNED AND GOOD PRACTICES Kevin DEVEAUX Parliamentary Development Policy Adviser, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New York PARLIAMENTARY STRENGTHENING AND THE PARIS PRINCIPLES Alan HUDSON Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute, London ANATOMY OF A SUCCESSFUL LEGISLATIVE STRENGTHENING PROGRAM: TALES FROM UGANDA AND THE UKRAINE Keith SCHULZ Legislative Strengthening Adviser, Office of Democracy and Governance, US Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington DC 1915-1945 Drinks Reception 1945 Dinner TUESDAY 28 OCTOBER 0900-1000 3 COMPARATIVE REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON PARLIAMENTARY EFFECTIVENESS (1): LATIN AMERICA, SE ASIA, THE PACIFIC AND THE MIDDLE EAST Objective: To flesh out the experience of parliaments in different regional contexts in order to better understand the factors which drive/impede parliamentary effectiveness. Key questions include: Are there specific regional stories which can be discerned? Do we have sufficient data on parliamentary performance in different countries/regions which allow for meaningful comparisons? What is the potential for transferring lessons between regions and countries? What roles can and should parliamentary networks play in disseminating best practice between regions/countries? PARLIAMENTARY STRENGTHENING IN LATIN AMERICA AND EAST AFRICA: SOME SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES John JOHNSON Director of Governance, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, Washington LESSONS FROM THE PACIFIC Quinton CLEMENTS Deputy Director, Centre for Democratic Institutions (CDI), The Australian National University, Canberra 1000-1115 4 COMPARATIVE REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON PARLIAMENTARY EFFECTIVENESS (2): AFRICA Objective: To understand factors which drive and impede parliamentary reform and effectiveness in the African context and the extent to which parliamentary strengthening initiatives have addressed this. Key questions include: Is there a distinctive African story which can be discerned? Do we have sufficient data on parliamentary performance in different countries which allow for meaningful comparisons across the Continent? What is the potential for transferring lessons between countries? What roles can and should parliamentary networks play in disseminating best practice between regions/countries? Roger WILLIAMSON (Chair) Programme Director, Wilton Park AFRICAN LEGISLATURE PROJECT: INITIAL FINDINGS Robert MATTES Professor of Political Studies, Director of the Democracy in Africa Research Unit, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch and Shaheen MOZAFFAR Professor, Department of Political Science, Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater PARLIAMENTARY STRENGTHENING – CONCLUSIONS OF A NEW STUDY Rasheed DRAMAN Director, Africa Programme, Parliamentary Centre, Accra THE ROLE OF THE COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION IN PARLIAMENTARY REFORMS IN AFRICA William SHIJA Secretary General, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, London 1115-1145 Tea and Coffee 1145-1300 5 THE ROLE OF PARLIAMENTS IN FRAGILE AND CONFLICT AFFECTED STATES Objective: To better understand the specific constraints parliaments face in fragile and conflict-affected environment and to draw out key lessons for parliamentary strengthening activities in these contexts. Key questions include: What is the relationship between parliaments and broader processes of state-building in fragile and conflict affected environments? What are the opportunities/risks associated with donor support to parliaments in these contexts? To what extent are these similar/different to lessons from other contexts? Are there successful examples of where parliamentary strengthening has helped to contribute to state and peace building objectives in fragile and conflict-affected contexts? Stefan KOSSOFF (Chair) Senior Governance Adviser, Policy and Research Division, Department for International Development (DFID), London PARLIAMENTS AS PEACEBUILDERS IN CONFLICT-AFFECTED COUNTRIES Mitchell O’BRIEN Consultant, Parliamentary Strengthening Program, World Bank Institute, Washington DC PARLIAMENTS IN THE BROADER CONTEXT OF GOVERNANCE/STATE/SOCIETY FRAGILITY Marco MEZZERA Research Fellow, Conflict Research Unit (CRU), Netherlands Institute of International Relations, Clingendael, The Hague “POST-CONFLICT” PARLIAMENTS AND THE PROMOTION OF RECONCILIATION Martin CHUNGONG Director, Division for the Promotion of Democracy, Inter-Parliamentary Union, Geneva 1300-1400 Lunch 1400-1530 6 PARLIAMENTS AND THE POLITICAL CONTEXT Objective: To understand how formal and informal political processes influence the way parliaments operate in different country contexts. And to explore how technical capacity building interventions can be better attuned to political realities. The session will then, using illustrative case studies, address the political context of Parliaments and assess their role in the political system as a whole. Key questions will include: What is the role that parliaments play in different political systems? How does the nature of politics influence the way parliamentarians behave? How can donors be more politically-sensitive and astute in the way they support parliaments? What are the incentives that can promote a shift from ethnic, religious or regional-based to issues-based politics? Where are successful examples of such a transformation in the nature of parliamentary politics? David FRENCH (Chair) Chief Executive, Westminster Foundation for Democracy, London THE POLITICS OF PARLIAMENTARY REFORM Greg POWER Director, Global Partners and Associates Limited, London Case Study: MAKING PARLIAMENT WORK; THE CASE OF PAKISTAN Mohammed WASEEM Professor, Department of Social Studies, Lahore University of Management Studies, Lahore Cantt Case Studies: Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Sierra Leone David LEONARD Formerly Dean of International and Area Studies at the University of California, Berkeley; Currently Professorial Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex 1530-1600 Tea and Coffee 1600-1700 7 PARLIAMENTS AND PARLIAMENTARY STRENGTHENING – A VIEW FROM THE SOUTH AND TRANSITION COUNTRIES