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Crime and violence impede development and disproportionally impact poor people in many countries across the world. Though crime and violence represent serious problems in many countries, less-developed countries experience particular concentrations, especially those that are characterized by fragile or less-trusted government institutions and pervasive insecurity. Under such circumstances, human, social, political, and economic development suffers. Research across the globe has shown that holistic approaches that focus on the entire spectrum of a government's crime response chain, ranging from crime prevention to enforcement, tend to have better outcomes than isolated interventions involving only the police or other individual government agency. To date, most of the Bank's investment in efforts to reduce crime have focused on crime prevention in the form of urban and social development programs. Investment and policy lending that support the improvement of police operations to reduce crime and develop stronger neighborhoods are more limited. To assist country teams and client counterparts in their efforts to develop effective, holistic responses against crime that include the police, justice reform staff in the Governance Global Practice teamed up with internationally recognized experts to compile evidence-based good practice information for developing effective police responses to crime. The resulting three part publication, titled Addressing the Enforcement Gap to Counter Crime: Investing in Public Safety, the Rule of Law and Local Development in Poor Neighborhoods outlines the impact of crime and violence on development and the poor in particular and explains a proven three-pronged approach to creating police agencies that work in collaboration with communities and other government and private service providers to identify crime problems, develop holistic and inclusive solutions the apply a restorative justice approach. The publication also outlines how such approach can be integrated into Bank projects and client country reform plans.

Crime and violence impede development and disproportionally impact poor people in many countries across the world. Though crime and violence represent serious problems in many countries, less-developed countries experience particular concentrations, especially those that are characterized by fragile or less-trusted government institutions and pervasive insecurity. Under such circumstances, human, social, political, and economic development suffers. Research across the globe has shown that holistic approaches that focus on the entire spectrum of a government's crime response chain, ranging from crime prevention to enforcement, tend to have better outcomes than isolated interventions involving only the police or other individual government agency. To date, most of the Bank's investment in efforts to reduce crime have focused on crime prevention in the form of urban and social development programs. Investment and policy lending that support the improvement of police operations to reduce crime and develop stronger neighborhoods are more limited. To assist country teams and client counterparts in their efforts to develop effective, holistic responses against crime that include the police, justice reform staff in the Governance Global Practice teamed up with internationally recognized experts to compile evidence-based good practice information for developing effective police responses to crime. The resulting three part publication, titled Addressing the Enforcement Gap to Counter Crime: Investing in Public Safety, the Rule of Law and Local Development in Poor Neighborhoods outlines the impact of crime and violence on development and the poor in particular and explains a proven three-pronged approach to creating police agencies that work in collaboration with communities and other government and private service providers to identify crime problems, develop holistic and inclusive solutions the apply a restorative justice approach. The publication also outlines how such approach can be integrated into Bank projects and client country reform plans.

Understanding the dynamic interplaying between urban violence and fragility and a countries’ economic potential will be key to boosting development in most African countries. As a first step to tackle this challenge, a multi-country study undertook a comparative research process, which identifies common trends across Sub-Saharan Africa in order to facilitate the identification of mechanisms through which urban fragility and violence prevention could be further integrated into the development process of African countries. Research and pilot activities were undertaken in one country of each of the three sub-regions in the continent. In all the countries included, the analytical work focused on understanding dynamics of crime and violence in selected urban areas and existing institutional (formal and informal) responses to crime and violence, so as to further the World Bank understanding on how to best address urban fragility and foster local resilience while putting the building blocks to define an urban fragility agenda in the Sub-Saharan African region. This report gives an overview of this multi-country study.

This assessment concludes that individual nation as well as regional and transnational organizations now have severely limited to nonexistent capacities to effectively respond to growing threat levels. It proposes a networked intelligence-led strategy at national, regional, and transnational levels to more effectively control, reduce, and, more importantly, prevent the wholesale slaughter into extinction of the African elephant population within the next decade. It concludes by outlining the requirements for designing and implementing a long-term sustainable elephant crime intelligence system, including the required governance arrangements, and proposes the roles and functions that key organizations could play at the national, regional, and transnational levels. Currently, a robust intelligence system addressing elephant poaching and illegal trade of ivory at all phases within the intelligence process is either nonexistent or seriously limited in capacity (the key phases in the intelligence process are planning and direction; collection; evaluation; collation; analysis; reporting/dissemination/action). Therefore, the project examines the need for designing and implementing a long-term sustainable elephant crime intelligence system and governance model as well as assessing the roles and functions that key organizations could play at the national, regional, and international levels within such an intelligence system and accompanying governance model.

Trafficking is an emerging concern in West Africa that is gaining increasing attention from the international community. This paper examines the relationship between trafficking and fragility in the region through a meta-analysis of existing knowledge and data on the subject. Given the scope of this paper, we will not attempt to provide any primary empirical or qualitative analysis, but instead focus on offering a comprehensive, unbiased overview of the recent policy and academic literature on the subject, which we hope will assist development practitioners working in the region and help the World Bank identify possible programmatic responses. The authors start this paper by defining trafficking to frame our analysis, and then provide an overview of the trafficking economy across the region. Next, authors outline the potential channels between trafficking and fragility, discussing the actors involved (organized criminal groups, rebels, local or national level politicians, the military, and civilians) and their relevance to specific countries. Finally, the authors present our suggestions on possible policy and programmatic responses, based on identifying both regional and external dimensions to the problems.

The community of development partners in the Republic of Moldova would be honored to engage in the development policy dialogue with the new Government. This briefing book from development partners is offered as a first step in such a dialogue and is solely intended to assist the new Government by providing development partners views and proposals that it can use to the extent it considers useful and relevant. These recommendations are based on Moldova s existing policy orientations as set out in the National Development Strategy Moldova 2020, its international obligations, and the Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union (EU). Moldova made a formal commitment to accelerate the country s development by making it capital-intensive, sustainable and knowledge-driven. With a strategic framework outlining Moldova s development path in place, it is now critical to accelerate implementation of the reforms including those set out in the Association Agenda to move closer to the EU. Moldova faces significant risks in the financial sector, which should be addressed as a matter of urgency. A well-regulated and reliable banking sector is fundamental to business, people and international investors. At the same time a robust system of public financial management should be in place to ensure transparency and accountability of public finances. Moldova should develop a competitive business environment attractive to new investment. Moldova should also take advantage of new trading opportunities through effective implementation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA).

With the purpose of providing assistance to government efforts in justice sector reform and modernization, the World Bank conducted two surveys. The first survey was conducted in 2010 in order to collect baseline information on perceptions of the court and prosecutorial performance and expectations from the reform implemented in January 2010. The second, follow-up, survey was conducted in 2013 in order to identify the impact of the first four years (2010 - 2013) of reforms and the expectations from the new national strategy of reform for the period 2014-2018. The surveys aimed to measure perceptions of judicial performance against five core values (efficiency, quality, fairness, accessibility, and integrity - independence and presence of corruption), and to compare the views of multiple stakeholders (court services users - general public and business sector, court services providers -judges, prosecutors and providers of court administrative services, and lawyers as intermediaries between users and providers of court services). The survey also focused on costs of judicial services, with respect to perceptions of accessibility of court services, and views of cost, with respect to quality of the delivered services, from the point of view of users with experience with court cases. Surveys can map experiences, perceptions, and expectations from the point of view of various stakeholders, thus providing an indication of the judiciary's popular legitimacy that cannot be measured in other ways. The introductory section contains an overview of perceptions of the five dimensions of judiciary performance across survey groups and across time. The second section on quality, besides perceptions of overall quality of judiciary services, encompasses the perceptions of fairness, integrity (presence of corruption and independence) and impartiality, and public trust in judiciary, while the cost issue is presented in the section on accessibility. Third section presents access to judicial services. Perceptions of performance of court administrative services alongside the five dimensions by users and providers of the services are presented in a separate section four. Section five is perceptions of the reform launched in January 2010 and new national judicial reform strategy for the period 2014-2018. The final section deals with the perceived role of media in shaping the public opinion on judiciary system in Serbia.

Community-based paralegalism has been active in the Philippines for the past 30 years, and yet its contribution to access to justice and the advancement of the rights and entitlements of the poor has been largely undocumented. This paper attempts to provide a framework study on the history, nature, and scope of paralegal work in the Philippines, based on the experience of 12 organizations that are active in the training and development of community-oriented paralegals. The study first provides a working definition of a community-based paralegal, and then examines the work of paralegals, their systems of accountability or lack thereof, and issues regarding recognition by the state and civil society actors. It also explores facilitating and hindering factors that aid or impinge upon the paralegals effectiveness. A major contributor to the work of paralegals was the democratization process after the overthrow of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and the continuing evolution of legal rights spurred by the relatively progressive constitution ratified in 1987. Three dimensions of paralegal s work are identified and explored, namely, building rights awareness, settling private disputes, and increasing state and corporate accountability. The study ends with conclusions and recommendations with regard to sustainability, monitoring and evaluation, funding, and the prospects for paralegal work over the long term.

This paper examines the design of social investment funds (SIFs) and explores the ways they affect agents incentives to propose, select, and implement good projects. Compared with other forms of decentralized service provision, SIFs possess features of administratively delegated authority and deep political devolution. Where existing political institutions fail to deliver assistance to vulnerable groups, a well-designed SIF may represent a useful administrative alternative. This article reviews several features that provide incentives for both SIF staff and project beneficiaries and concludes with practical guidelines for designing and appraising social investment funds.

The International Crisis Group has recognized the need for simultaneity rather than sequencing in security and development to contribute to conflict prevention, end conflict where it exists, and help ensure the success of post conflict reconstruction and stabilization.

This report is the final product of a project financed by a grant from the World Bank's Youth Innovation Fund developed in conjunction with representatives of the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) spanning the period December 2011-June 2012. The report is an advisory document to assist the GoSL in advancement of its Public Sector Reform Program, particularly the initiative improving productivity through management and pay reforms. It provides the Public Service Commission (PSC) and Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) with options for the design and implementation of an entry-level leadership development program (ELDP) for the civil service, currently slated for implementation in 2014 as per government timelines. This program is herein referred to as the Sierra Leone Public Service Fellowship (SLPSF). The purpose of this document is address the identified organizational gap by offering technical guidance on the creation of a civil service fellowship that cultivates promising young professionals as future leaders. The proposed program targets university students in their final year of study and entices them to apply for graduate entry-level positions through a dedicated outreach effort and series of incentives. It selects candidates through a rigorous multi-stage assessment and matches successful candidate's interests with the needs of the Ministry, Department, or Agency (MDAs). It trains selected fellows in core civil service knowledge as well as a range of generalist functions and technical skills. It also offers fellows the opportunity to rotate in three different MDAs throughout the two-year period to develop a whole of government perspective. Throughout this initiative, the program offers fellows access to senior Government leaders and opportunities to grow professionally building a strong foundation for a successful career as a civil servant. Additionally, the program is bolstered by a number of public relations opportunities to raise its profile and showcase its achievements to Sierra Leoneans within and outside of Government.

In this paper we demonstrate that the axiomatic measurement approach developed in the poverty and inequality literature can be usefully applied to the measurement of corruption. We develop a conceptual framework for organizing corruption data and discuss several objective, aggregate corruption measures consistent with axiomatic requirements. We then provide an empirical application of the methodology and estimate the respective corruption measures for a sample of over 25 countries during the year of 2000. Our empirical analysis reveals significant discrepancies between the country rankings generated by these measures and those provided by the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from Transparency International. To our knowledge, this paper represents a first analysis of corruption measurement using an axiomatic framework.

Bangladesh is one of the world's poorest and most densely populated countries, and subject to annual cyclones and flooding. Despite these challenges, it benefits from strong economic growth, good performance on health and education, and poverty reduction, alongside weak governance and pervasive corruption. The reasons include strong macroeconomic policy, pro-poor spending, credible elections, export growth and remittances, improved capacity for managing natural disasters, and a stronger civil society than comparable countries. After over a decade of intense engagement with the Bank on governance, Bangladesh adopted in 2006 a governance-oriented Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) with four main objectives: to improve implementation capacity; to 'tackle corruption' by fully operationalizing the Anti-Corruption Commission; to lay the foundation for comprehensive legal and judicial reform; and to strengthen 'voice, empowerment and participation.' The choice of a wide range of instruments and areas of intervention was appropriate, given the political instability at the time of 2006 CAS preparation. The Bank signaled it was ready to engage in all areas, and could scale up or pull back depending on emerging political and bureaucratic commitment. The 2006 CAS yielded mixed results, and the subsequent Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) has been more selective on GAC issues. At the project level, governance has been a key priority, in line with the South Asia region's heavy emphasis on GAC-in-Projects. Investments in GAC-in-primary education, a local government project, anti-corruption efforts in the power sector, and projects strengthening the investment climate have yielded positive results. Investments in GAC-in-roads projects have had mixed results in terms of effectiveness. GAC activities were mainly adopted prior to the 2007 GAC strategy. Although Bangladesh was a Country Governance and Anticorruption (CGAC) country, the country team chose not to use CGAC funds because the country had already been intensively using GAC approaches well before the GAC strategy was adopted.

This case study summarizes the findings of desk reviews and a field visit carried out in January 2011 as part of IEG's evaluation of the 2007 Governance and Anticorruption (GAC) strategy. The case study sought to evaluate the relevance and effectiveness of Bank support for GAC efforts over the FY2004-10 period, to assess the contributions of 2007 strategy implementation, and to identify early outcomes and lessons. This Background Paper is based on findings of the mission that visited Liberia in January 2011. The team is particularly grateful for informative meetings with officials from the Government of Liberia, Bank staff, and members of civil society. The evaluation aims to help enhance the Bank's approach to governance and anticorruption and to improve its effectiveness in helping countries develop capable and accountable states that create opportunities for the poor. Pursuant to this objective, the evaluation assessed the relevance of the 2007 GAC strategy and implementation plan, as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of implementation efforts in making Bank engagement with countries and other development partners more responsive to GAC concerns. It also sought to identify early lessons about what works and what does not in helping to promote good governance and reduce corruption. The Liberia case study is based on an extensive desk review as well as a field visit to Monrovia from January 17-22, 2011. It evaluates the relevance and effectiveness of Bank support for governance and anticorruption efforts since the launch of the Bank's GAC strategy in 2007. It elaborates on a desk review of the GAC responsiveness of the Bank's Liberia program and reviews the following GAC entry points: core public sector reform (public financial management and decentralization); demand for good governance (including social accountability issues); GAC in the road sector; and the investment climate. The case study also examines the extent to which the Bank's GAC Strategy has made a difference in staff attitudes toward addressing GAC issues in their operational work. The mission interviewed government, Bank, donor, and nongovernmental organization (NGO) staff based in Washington and in Monrovia.

Cambodia is one of the world's most open economies, sustaining high levels of growth in an environment of relatively weak governance. Emerging from a legacy of genocide and civil conflict, the country has sought to address human and social capital deficits across sectors, weaknesses in public finance, and corruption. Despite improvements in access to basic services, governance constraints persist and may threaten gains from economic integration. Over the 2004-10 period, the Bank's engagement on Governance and Anticorruption (GAC) issues in Cambodia was not defined by a single, overarching priority or entry point (such as core public sector management, natural resource management, or service delivery). Rather, the Bank was opportunistic, opting to support the government's GAC efforts across multiple sectors and institutions. The relevance of this opportunistic approach is judged to be moderately relevant. The Bank's objectives on public financial management (PFM) were highly relevant given Cambodia's nontransparent and weak public expenditure management and limited capacity. The Bank's response to sectoral governance weaknesses such as red tape, inefficiencies, and other forms of rent-seeking in customs is rated modest given the need for the government to implement its World Trade Organization commitments. The Bank's project level engagement is rated as moderately relevant. As a basis for reinstating suspended projects, portfolio-wide measures included the use of an Independent Procurement Agency (IPA) for the International Development Association (IDA) procurements, and the implementation of Good Governance Frameworks (GGF) for all IDA projects.

The purpose of this issues note is to review the experience in and outside the World Bank of using different diagnostic tools in fragile state situations. It will identify trends in the use of such tools, lessons learnt, and arrive at suggestions for the future. Because governance has continued to be a major concern in the international community, over the years this has led to a growing diversity in the application of the concept. With this diversification the types of assessment in use have also increased, a process that reflects two things. First, each agency tends to design an assessment to meet its own program needs. Second, diagnostic tools have often fallen short of expectations leading agencies to develop new ones, including more recently political economy studies that go beyond what was at least until recently mainstream types of assessing governance. Accepting the diversity of definitions and assessments, this note does not intend to review the whole field. A diagnostic tool here refers to the approach and methodology used in assessing governance. Choice of tool has a direct bearing on how an activity is designed and carried out. Making the right choice, therefore, is important. A tool may become 'main stream' and the original rationale for its use disappears. It is applied because everyone else is using it or there is pressure to use the same tool as others. A shift to other tools, however, may become necessary because existing tools do not deliver. Such a shift is occurring in the governance field where a focus on institutions is being increasingly complemented, if not replaced, by a studies of underlying political economy factors. This Note tries to trace this process by highlighting both specific and more general experiences with tools used to assess governance. Fragile states or situations are not typical but they give rise to governance challenges that more than other contexts test the limits of particular tools. This becomes an especially important issue given that what works in countries that are not fragile seems to fall short of the same achievement in fragile situations.

A key driver of Liberia's re-emergence from utter destruction, between 2004 and 2008, was the willingness of international actors to accept the responsibility and risks associated with stabilization. This was accomplished by confronting these risks directly, even at the cost of temporarily filling institutional voids and sharing sovereignty with the Liberian transitional authorities. The main international diplomatic representations and aid agencies on the ground came to accept from their varying perspectives that peace in Liberia was fragile and that the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement (ACPA) of September 2003 was only the beginning of a protracted stabilization effort. The domestic market for consultants and goods did not exist, requiring the World Bank to innovate with new modes of delivering assistance. Thus, peace consolidation compelled international partners to simultaneously (i) prevent full state capture by corrupt elites in advance of elections and (ii) secure a peace dividend to vulnerable groups which could most directly threaten peace (young ex-combatants and refugees). Building on a solid UN-World Bank partnership, the international community found the internal consensus to address each of the two complementary peace consolidation challenges, adopting two highly innovative instruments: (i) an anti-corruption scheme labeled Governance and Economic Management Assistance Program (GEMAP), involving such robust measures as expatriate co-signing authority, and (ii) a short-term employment-generation scheme now known as roads-with- United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), centered on a rare direct collaboration between the Bank and the engineering units of the UN's military peacekeeping force on the ground. This paper examines these two instruments more closely, in their successes and failures as well as from the perspective of temporary shared sovereignty and co-production.

Developing a diagnostic and action framework for donor-assisted governance reform in conflict-affected countries and fragile states was the objective of a program implemented by the World Bank's Social Development Department (SDV) and funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The first phase of the program developed lessons and outcomes based upon a review of international experience of governance reform in fragile and conflict-affected states. A major objective was to identify specific approaches and activities that will be most effective in strengthening institutions, promoting transparency and accountability, and enhancing capacity at local and national levels. This phase also derived lessons on the utility and shortcomings of governance-related diagnostic tools in designing and evaluating country strategies and programs in fragile states. A key issue concerns methodology. What type of analytical method provides a more useful assessment: country-specific analyses of the political economy, indicators designed for purposes of cross-country comparison, indices that rank state fragility, or some combination of diagnostic tools? The second phase of the program also was in two parts. Cote d'Ivoire's poverty reduction strategy process was used as an entry point for an initiative that facilitated process and method-oriented exercises for local stakeholders on the how rather than the what of policy development in an effort to build governance capacity. One result is a model that may serve for future engagement in other fragile and conflict-affected countries. The second part of this phase is an ongoing effort to work with local partners in the Central African Republic and Chad to identify strategies that could strengthen access to justice at the local level. Activities include assessing the strengths and weaknesses of formal and informal justice systems and mapping community-based practices and informal justice systems, including some under the aegis of NGOs, as well as identifying possible linkages to state justice systems. The paper will first examine the concepts of state fragility and governance in terms of donor engagement. Part two will discuss the lessons (opportunities and constraints), diagnostic tools and entry points for governance reform. Part three will offer conclusions.

This note synthesizes the experience of three political economy case studies: the water sector in West Bank and Gaza, the bus sector in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the port sector in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The objective is to describe: the process of conducting these types of studies, and how recommendations which have a higher chance of feeding into reforms or operations can be developed. It is hoped that these insights will be useful for development practitioners and operational teams who are considering conducting political economy studies. It is increasingly accepted that better understanding and management of the political economy of policy reforms can help development agencies, including the World Bank, refine policy advice and operational support in partner countries. Support of reforms which are technically feasible and politically acceptable, while simultaneously promoting a poverty reduction agenda, remain a core challenge for the World Bank. It is anticipated that the additional time and effort put into political economy work will often translate into improved design and implementation of sector reforms and operations, and thus increase their effectiveness. It illustrates lessons for operational teams and development practitioners on conducting political economy work. Finally, it shows that certain obstacles need to be anticipated when translating political economy recommendations into design of operations and illustrates, through the case studies, how they can be addressed.

Well-functioning institutions matter for economic development. In order to operate effectively, public institutions must also inspire confidence in those they serve. We use data from the Gallup World Poll, a unique and very large global household survey, to document a quantitatively large and statistically significant negative correlation between corruption and confidence in public institutions. This suggests an important indirect channel through which corruption can inhibit development: by eroding confidence in public institutions. This correlation is robust to the inclusion of a large set of controls for country and respondent-level characteristics. Moreover we show how it can plausibly be interpreted as reflecting at least in part a causal effect from corruption to confidence. Finally, we provide evidence that individuals with low confidence in institutions exhibit low levels of political participation, show increased tolerance for violent means to achieve political ends, and have a greater desire to “vote with their feet” through emigration.

This paper examines the relationship between narcotics trafficking and violence in Central America. The first part of the paper addresses particular questions posed for the 2011 World Development Report and examines several competing hypothesis on the drivers of crime in Central America. A key finding is that areas exposed to intense narcotics trafficking in Central America suffer from higher homicide rates. Drug trafficking has corrupted state institutions, which have been overwhelmed by the resources deployed by trafficking organizations. The second part of the paper reviews the reasons drug trafficking and anti trafficking enforcement are associated with violence in general and consider policy options.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been described by one senior African diplomat at the United Nations as a 'state in the making; it is not yet a state.' Further, this 'state in the making' also is a state that, with few exceptions, has been in decline since the early 1970s. The colonial era, from 1885 until 1958, was a period of nearly uninterrupted state construction; the hegemony of the Belgian colonial apparatus steadily deepened. In its final two years, the colonial edifice progressively lost control over civil society to a tumultuous and fragmented nationalist movement, which was unable to capture intact the colonial infrastructure. The result was five years of turbulent state deflation, generally known as the 'Congo crisis.' The Mobutu coup of 1965 inaugurated a new cycle, with eight years in which a rising tide of state ascendancy seemed to dominate the political process. After 1974 currents of decline again began to flow strongly, progressively eroding the superstructure of hegemony. The actual purpose of the Zairian government under Mobutu was not to fulfill basic state functions; rather, the government existed as a structure for individual enrichment and patronage. Officials at the highest levels stole large amounts of money, usually from mineral or customs revenues, sometimes through extremely straightforward strategies, such as literally pocketing gem diamonds and having them sold for personal gain in Antwerp or elsewhere.

This paper presents a selection of experiences from Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in managing justice institutions which are the most relevant for performance improvement of their counterparts in Latin America. The scope of the paper is mostly limited to the courts, but comprises all types of courts: specialized courts as well as courts of general jurisdiction, civil as well as criminal and administrative courts, first instance as well as appellate and supreme courts. Issues of legal reform, judicial training, alternative dispute resolution or access for the poor are not considered in this paper. The first chapter provides an overview of the justice sector reform experience in Latin America over the last two decades, and how these reforms coincide with or follow OECD country trends. The second chapter outlines the context of the debates regarding the performance and quality of justice services in OECD countries prior to the 1990s. The third chapter discusses the transition from traditional justice reform approaches in OECD countries to the New Public Management (NPM) approaches that began in the 1990s. The fourth chapter presents five major cases of reforms in public expenditure, human resources, and organizational restructuring in the justice sectors of five different countries. The fifth chapter describes recent trends in OECD countries regarding quality controls in court service delivery which share approaches with the private sector. The paper concludes with some suggestions about areas where Latin American judiciaries may benefit from experiences of OECD countries.

Strengthening the rule of law is widely regarded among traditional donors, multilateral institutions, and a growing number of middle income and fragile states as a necessary precondition for sustainable peace, poverty alleviation, and development. Crime and violence deter investment and lower employment, undermine social institutions, and divert resources through direct and indirect costs, all of which hinder development. It is likely to disproportionately affect poor and marginalized populations by limiting access to basic services. The formal criminal justice system is seen in many environments as failing to deliver justice. Most states experiencing fragility do not have the capacity to effectively prevent crime, enforce laws, or peacefully resolve disputes across the whole of their territories. There is another powerful deterrent for communities to seek redress through state criminal justice institutions: they are frequently a primary instrument for the government and elites to maintain power and control through the perpetration of injustice. The informal system, however, is alone insufficient to handle the pressing justice requirements of fragile states, not least for preventing and responding to inter-communal conflict, to serious organized and cross-border crime, and to public corruption and other 'white collar' crime.

There is broad recognition, across the political spectrum and in both 'northern' and 'southern' countries, that justice reform, and more generally the promotion of the 'rule of law', are central to development policy, particularly in conflict-affected, fragile and violent contexts. More recently an increased focus on global security and the interaction between security and development as put a renewed emphasis on such efforts. However, while legal, regulatory and 'justice' institutions are now seen as key part of the 'solution' to problems of conflict, fragility and development, this recognition is not matched by a correspondingly clear sense of what should be done, how it should be done, by whom, in what order, or how 'success' may be determined. There often tends to be a clear misunderstanding of both the nature of the problem and (thus) of the solution. In this paper, the author seek to provide some insight into these questions and sketch out a practical conception of effective justice reform in situations of conflict and fragility that may provide the basis for effective programming.

This case study examines contemporary experiences of conflict in four contexts: Papua New Guinea, with particular reference to the island of Bougainville and the Highlands region; Solomon Islands; and Vanuatu. We find common themes in these experiences, despite the regions famous sociolinguistic diversity, fragmented geography and varied experience of globalization. Melanesia offers distinctive lessons about how conflict may be understood, promoted and avoided. The paper is organized in two broad parts. The first part is contextual. It provides a brief account of conflict and violence in social life before and after colonization. It then tracks, largely chronologically, through the local, national and transnational dimensions of contemporary conflict, how it was avoided, how it has changed, and how it has been managed in different contexts. Particular attention is given to global and regional influences, and to how governments, local people, and external security, development and commercial actors, have worked to mitigate and, at times, exacerbate conflict. The second part of the case study is more analytical. It steps back from the particulars to address themes and propositions in the overall conceptual framing of World Development Report (WDR) 2011 about the nature of conflict, and the underlying stresses and interests that may render it more likely. Part two draws lessons from the histories and contexts discussed in part one. The report organizes these around three themes that reflect views shared with us by people during consultations. The first highlights the need to recognize conflict as an inherent part of social change and thus the need to distinguish between socially generative social contest, and forms of conflict that are corrosive and destructive. The second examines how the ways people 'see' and understand the world directly shapes systems of regulation and 'the rules of the game' and thus directly affect responses to conflict. The third theme argues that capable and legitimate institutions to regulate social contest requires not just capable state institutions, but as much, relationships with local and international agents and organizations operating below and above the state.

Violent conflict is the multifaceted and cyclical problem that the international community is trying to grapple with. To date, there has been a clear hierarchy concerning what forms of violence are seen to matter most, with political violence that threatens the state taking pole position. In examining this argument, this paper sets out a number of issues relating to security and justice definitions. It will then examine some of the problems associated with placing conflict into a box-set typology: mass violence associated with war and genocide carries unique features but also spawns new challenges which are often being ignored. The paper will then examine in brief some of the measures used by communities, governmental actors and international partners in contending with violence before outlining some key conclusions and recommendations. In reading this paper two further points need be borne in mind: 1) this does not provide a comprehensive overview of violence and security - that is the role of the World Development Report (WDR) itself, and 2) this paper does not present fresh research, but more an overview, along with the other papers in the security-justice series, of some of the key issues confronting policy makers in the domain of security and development.

The central theme of the 2011 World Development Report (WDR) is that violent conflict remains a constant threat to human rights, peace and sustainable development. While the nature of violent conflict maybe changing1 its negative impact on poor people in terms of rights violations, public health, forced displacement and diminution of life chances is the same. Critical to establishing peace and the necessary confidence between state and citizen is providing a sense of security, freedom from fear, and the protection of basic rights and entitlements. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship, overlapping and sometimes contradictory, between a range of approaches to security and justice in conflict affected contexts, and to place these efforts within a broader rule of law framework. This, it will be argued, greatly assists in addressing the kind of frictions and blind-spots that commonly exist in making the transition from violence to peace. The paper will then examine some of the instruments and approaches adopted by governments and international partners in addressing the kinds of stresses which result in violent conflict. Finally, it will examine the gaps in the international arena which continue to persist in this area of support. A series of security and justice-themed papers produced for the WDR 2011 outline in more detail the issues, approaches and lessons of the key components including: security, public security in peacekeeping settings, criminal justice, justice and administrative law, and transitional justice.

This country assistance evaluation assesses the outcomes of the World Banks program in Nigeria during the period 1998–2007. The Country Assistance Evaluation focuses on the objectives of that assistance and the extent to which outcomes were consistent with those objectives. It looks at the Banks contribution to the achievement of those outcomes and at the lessons for the Banks future activities in Nigeria and in other countries. The evaluation includes a review of relevant documents, complemented by interviews with Bank staff and other key donors, as well as with representatives of the Nigerian government, the private sector, and civil society. Overall, the outcomes of the Bank program in Nigeria are rated as moderately unsatisfactory. This reflects an improvement relative to IEG’s 2000–04 assessment, which rated the outcome of Bank assistance as unsatisfactory. The current assessment recognizes the country’s signal achievements in maintaining macroeconomic stability and laying the basis for more effective and cost-efficient performance of the central government. There are major risks associated with this, however. The earnings from Nigeria’s oil and gas resources require strong management that puts the national interest ahead of that of individuals and state governments. In the fragmented context of Nigerian politics, that is a tough proposition to maintain. If the government shows the necessary leadership and successfully leverages the resources it has to provide incentives to state governments to do a better job of delivering social services, there is the potential for real progress in reducing poverty and achieving the MDGs.

The devolution of procurement responsibilities to local levels of government is increasingly occurring across South Asia. This trend is significant because increasingly localized decision-making better enables communities to hold government authorities accountable for the effectiveness of public spending, which can lead to various improved development outcomes, such as improvements in quality of service delivery; greater empowerment and understanding by end-users services supplied through public procurement processes; and improved oversight and accountability of service delivery agencies. The objective of this report is to set out an overview of the strategic approach developed by World Bank Institute (WBI) as a component of the Norwegian governance trust fund (NTF) program `procurement and service delivery: establishing effective collaboration between government and beneficiaries on monitoring procurement outcomes`. WBI received funds under the NTF to facilitate the development of context and audience-specific knowledge products by recognized practitioners and civil society organizations in South Asia as part of a broader effort to create a practical curriculum on social accountability in procurement.