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Collective violence from extreme right-wing supporters of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro was feared and even expected after the October 30th 2022 runoff of Presidential elections. While there were indeed many demonstrations, road blocks and protest camps across the country, the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took place without disturbance on 1 January. The expectation was that the new government would thus no longer face anti-democratic activities.
It was wrong. On 8 January, an angry crowd of Bolsonaro supporters invaded the Presidential Palace, the Congress and the Supreme Court. Some 10,000 extremists, dressed in the colours of Brazil’s flag, vandalised the buildings of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Glass windows and doors were broken. Furniture and art works – many of high historical, cultural and financial value – were destroyed.
Controlling the vandalsAfter hours of rioting, reinforced security forces managed to control the vandals. By Monday evening, 1500 persons had been arrested. Some were caught in the act, but the investigative police also used photos and video to identify perpetrators of what was widely called acts of terrorism. Some culprits had posted incriminating images online.
Nonetheless, authorities’ failure to prevent the attack is deeply worrisome. The intelligence agency had issued several warnings about the risk of radical action. Nonetheless, the military police of the Federal District of Brasília escorted the mob through the capital. Some pictures show them appreciating the extremists. Bolsonaro always did his best to woo the security forces. Ibaneis Rocha, the governor of Federal District of Brasília, is a Bolsonaro ally and now considered an accomplice of the attacks.
The invasion of Brasília was orchestrated. Radicals were brought in by bus from all over Brazil. Transportation and food were paid for by businesses, mostly from the agricultural sector, where some big investors benefited from Bolsonaro’s disregard for the environment. Coordination was done on social networks, especially Twitter and Telegram.
International networking of the extreme rightThe incidents in Brasília obviously resembled the riot in the US Capitol on 6 January 2020. There is evidence of the extreme right’s transnational networking. Supporters of former US President Donald Trump strategised with people who belong to Bolsonaro’s inner circle. Bolsonaro himself took refuge in Florida in late December, where he was hospitalised at the time of the invasion. That looked like a carefully planned alibi.
Brazil’s institutions did react forcefully. Lula announced a federal intervention in Brasília’s security forces, and Congress approved it fast. He also dismissed dozens of military leaders. A Supreme Court justice suspended Rocha from the regional government for 90 days. He also blocked Telegram and ordered that the content of messages from before 8 January must be sent to the federal police. Anderson Torres, who was in charge of public safety in the Federal District and is Bolsonaro’s former attorney general, was arrested – and so was the chief of Brasília’s military police.
Open questionsMany analysts now see Brazil’s institutions, democracy and current government strengthened. The extremists who wanted to trigger a military coup failed. Key questions remain unanswered however.
In this context, it is encouraging that many foreign leaders expressed solidarity with Lula fast.
André de Mello e Souza is an economist at Ipea (Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada), a federal think tank in Brazil.
Twitter: @A_MelloeSouza
contributed to D+C/E+Z in autumn of 2022. He is an economist at Ipea (Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada), a federal think tank in Brazil. Twitter: @A_MelloeSouza
Überall anzeigen2022 was another difficult year for the global economy—and not least for Africa, which was already burdened with rising public debt levels, poor infrastructure, jobless growth, and high inequality—even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
As 2023 begins, Africa’s recovery is further threatened by multiple crises and a precarious external environment. The war in Ukraine and global surge in inflation have ripped open the scars of the pandemic—putting historic pressure on food, fuel, and fertilizer prices. Meanwhile, the uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic continues to feature in headlines across Africa and elsewhere. Fragility in parts of the continent and adverse weather conditions are also key concerns. With these challenges, it is easy to be pessimistic about Africa’s prospects, and yet, Africa has proved resilient—time and time again.
On January 30th, the Brookings Institution’s Africa Growth Initiative will launch its flagship report, “Foresight Africa: Top priorities for Africa in 2023”, that examines pressing policy issues on the continent in a time of heightened global turbulence. This year’s launch will feature a high-level panel of leading Africa experts, who will offer insights and recommendations on the following questions:
After the panel, the panelists will take audience questions.
This event will be available for in-person attendance or to watch online. Viewers can submit questions for the panel by emailing events@brookings.edu or via Twitter @BrookingsGlobal by using
#ForesightAfrica
Brookings requires all staff and visitors to show proof that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 via vaccines approved by the FDA or WHO. After submitting your registration, please proceed to the provided link on the confirmation page to complete the registration process by verifying your vaccination information.
By Maurizio Bezzeccheri, Head Latin America region, Enel; Francesco Ciaccia, Manager, Eni; and Marta Martinez, Climate Change and Alliances, Iberdrola
The world is in the midst of an unprecedented and complex global energy crisis. Governments across emerging markets face two apparently conflicting priorities: ensuring immediate energy security and accelerating the energy transition to address the longer-term challenge of climate change. But are these priorities truly conflicting? And what can the private sector do to change the calculus by accelerating the green transition in times of crisis?
The post Accelerating the green energy transition in emerging markets in times of crisis appeared first on Development Matters.
Obwohl das internationale Flüchtlingsrecht und der Flüchtlingsschutz vorgeben, für alle als Flüchtlinge kategorisierten Menschen weltweit zu gelten, ist deren Entstehung und Anwendung auf das Engste mit den geopolitischen Kämpfen der Großmächte verbunden. Infolgedessen sind unterschiedliche Konzeptualisierungen von Flüchtlingen entlang der globalen Nord-Süd-Linie entstanden. Der Beitrag interessiert sich für koloniales Othering im Kontext von Fluchtmigration und verknüpft analytisch drei Bereiche: das internationale Flüchtlingsrecht, die politischen Diskurse über Flüchtlingsschutz und die geschlechtsspezifischen Auswirkungen auf Flüchtlinge, insbesondere im postkolonialen Afrika. Wir zeigen, dass der ursprüngliche Fokus der Genfer Flüchtlingskonvention von 1951 auf Flüchtlinge in Europa zur strukturellen Vernachlässigung und zum Othering von Flüchtlingen beigetragen hat, die ‚anderswo‘ in der Welt situiert waren. Während und nach der Dekolonisierung in Afrika haben politische Diskurse über Schutz diese Dynamiken intensiviert; der Schwerpunkt lag nicht auf rechtlichem Asyl, sondern auf humanitärer Hilfe. Dadurch wurden die ‚anderen‘ Flüchtlinge als hilfsbedürftig, apolitisch und feminin dargestellt, was westliche Geschlechterdichotomien (re)produzierte.
The unprecedented transnational migration ensuing from the economic crisis in Zimbabwe has sociocultural impacts on both migrant and non-migrant family members. This article, which draws from qualitative research with migrants and non-migrants, discusses how migration upsets cultural configurations of the family in terms of marriage, parenthood, childhood, the gender and age division of labor, and family relations. Transnational migration has destabilized traditional family structures by creating relations and gender roles that challenge cultural and social values relating to both the nuclear and extended families. Transnational migration has also transformed the family’s place in the migrant’s life and vice versa in ways that deviate from the cultural norm.
Reconciling global population growth with sustainable development is one of the most critical issues humanity is facing. However, we are running out of time to achieve this goal. The climate crisis, biodiversity and ecosystem loss are advancing. At the same time, global resource consumption takes place on a massive scale.
Due to high birth rates, the world’s least developed countries have a very young age structure. Around 60 % of the population are less than 25 years old. In many of those countries, the population continues to grow, but with a decreasing trend. This opens up economic opportunities: if there is a decline in the number of births per woman in the wake of strong population growth, the proportion of people of working age in the population as a whole generally rises. This means there are more people available to drive the economy. Society has to take care of fewer children and elderly. This potential economic benefit of a demographic shift is called “demographic dividend”.
Mabingué Ngom 08.12.2021 Moving from crisis to dynamism on Sahara’s southern edgesHowever, a favourable age structure alone does not necessarily produce a demographic dividend. A number of factors may be involved in generating the kind of demographic capital that yields dividends that can improve people’s living conditions. Identifying those factors has been a long-standing focus of discussion. What is clear is that a high proportion of people in employment can promote economic development, if at the same time:
That, at least, is what is promised by development concepts based on classical economic growth theory. In the past, demographic dividends were observed in a number of countries in Asia, including the “tiger economies” of South Korea and Taiwan.
Today, birth rates are falling in many countries across sub-Saharan Africa. In Ethiopia, fertility has fallen from more than seven children per woman in 1990 to just four children today. The average for the region is 4.5 children. Whether this will culminate in a medium-term demographic dividend depends, among other things, on how fertility will fall in the future and to what extent investment in human development will take place. Consequently, the African Union (AU) focuses on investing in youth, so that African countries will benefit from population growth. This issue was also stressed by experts participating in a virtual conference at the university of applied sciences in Regensburg (Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg), Germany, at the end of 2021. The conference was organised by the “Migration, Integration and World Population” working group of the German Society for Demography in cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), development service provider GIZ, Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) and University of Koblenz-Landau (UKL).
Rising emissionsThe conference also discussed a dilemma presented by demographic-fuelled economic development – the fact that it often gives rise to higher resource consumption and more emissions. This was the case with conventional industrialisation. It brought prosperity to many in the past, but it also meant that responsibility for around half of global warming today lies at the door of just 10 % of the human race – namely the world’s wealthiest. Resource consumption by today’s fastest-growing populations hardly contributes to the climate crisis at all.
It is hardly realistic for sub-Saharan Africa to achieve sustainable development through conventional industrialisation. On the one hand, the population continues to grow despite falling fertility rates; on the other, global sustainability limits have already been far exceeded as a result of the historical development of industrialised and emerging economies. Any such strategy for sub-Saharan Africa must therefore be viewed critically.
One way to realise economic development sustainably without following the same resource-intensive development path as industrialised countries is by “leapfrogging”. This means skipping certain stages of development, as happened in Nigeria, for example, with telephone infrastructure. The country leapfrogged landline-network development. Instead, mobile-phone contracts proliferated, creating direct opportunities for mobile-bank accounts.
Climate-friendly growthLots of small steps in different areas of development could contribute to climate-friendly growth. But many African countries are likely to find it difficult to replicate the surging development of economies in Asia. This is particularly true of countries still suffering from the consequences of civil wars and other conflicts. But whatever the environment, respect for sexual and reproductive rights should be guided by the principle of human rights.
In some African countries attitudes towards family planning are changing, as experts at the Regensburg conference pointed out. In Ethiopia, for instance, access to information on sexual and reproductive health has improved school enrolment and completion rates, especially for girls.
The need for sex education is high among young Africans, and the desire for fewer children and later pregnancies is widespread. However, every second woman in sub-Saharan Africa who wishes to use contraception has no opportunity to do so. There is a lack of services for young people, for example at health stations. These problems should be addressed. It would contribute to a sustainable population development based on respect for human rights and gender equality.
Literature
Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung, 2021: Globale Bevölkerungsentwicklung. Fakten und Trends. BiB.Bevölkerungs.Studien 1/2021.
https://www.bib.bund.de/Publikation/2021/Globale-Bevoelkerungsentwicklung.html?nn=15207364
Klingholz, R., Sütterlin, S., Kaps, A., Hinz, C., 2020: Wie in Afrika große Entwicklungssprünge möglich werden. Berlin-Institut für Bevölkerung und Entwicklung.
https://www.berlin-institut.org/studien-analysen/detail/schnell-bezahlbar-nachhaltig
Kaps, A., Schewe, A.-K., Klingholz, R., 2019: Wie sinkende Kinderzahlen Entwicklung beschleunigen. Berlin-Institut für Bevölkerung und Entwicklung.
https://www.berlin-institut.org/studien-analysen/detail/afrikas-demografische-vorreiter
Frank Swiaczny is a researcher at the Federal Institute for Population Research in Wiesbaden.
frank.swiaczny@bib.bund.de
Sonja Haug is Professor of Empirical Social Research at Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg and a spokesperson for the “Migration, Integration, World Population” working group of the German Society for Demography (DGD).
sonja.haug@oth-regensburg.de
Susanne Schmid is head of the “Social Development, Migration, Integration” department of the Academy for Politics and Contemporary Affairs at the Hanns-Seidel-Foundation and spokesperson for the “Migration, Integration, World Population” working group of the German Society for Demography (DGD).
schmids@hss.de
Sabrina Gabel is working for the German development agency GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit). Until recently, she was part of a project focused on population dynamics, sexual and reproductive health and rights. The article reflects the author’s personal opinion.
sabrina.gabel@giz.de
contributed to D+C/E+Z in winter of 2022/2023 as a researcher at the Federal Institute for Population Research in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Sonja Haug
contributed to D+C/E+Z in winter of 2022/2023 as Professor of Empirical Social Research at Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg and a spokesperson for the “Migration, Integration, World Population” working group of the German Society for Demography (DGD).
Susanne Schmid
contributed to D+C/E+Z in winter of 2022/2023. She is head of the “Social Development, Migration, Integration” department of the Academy for Politics and Contemporary Affairs at the Hanns-Seidel-Foundation and spokesperson for the “Migration, Integration, World Population” working group of the German Society for Demography (DGD).
Sabrina Gabel
contributed to D+C/E+Z in winter of 2022/2023. She is working for the German development agency GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit).
Überall anzeigenBy Izzy Taylor
In 2022, experts at Brookings Global studied myriad issues affecting the global economy and development. In our first ever Global Lookback, I sat down with and recorded 14 fellows as they discussed the research, events, and publications that had the most impact—as well as their insight on the most meaningful work to come in the new year.
Vice President and Director Brahima S. Coulibaly kicked us off with an overview of the challenges Global scholars sought to address in 2022—from guiding post-pandemic economic recovery and avoiding a sovereign debt crisis to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and transforming education.
As we count down to 2023, Brookings Global is looking back on our accomplishments.
Vice President @bsangafowacoul kicks off our #GlobalLookback2022—join us in the coming weeks as our scholars recap their proudest moments in 2022. pic.twitter.com/ZpRyMFfq4C
— Brookings Global (@BrookingsGlobal) December 19, 2022
Africa Growth InitiativeThis past year, scholars from the Africa Growth Initiative emphasized the importance of including African voices in global debates. Director Aloysius Uche Ordu reflected on convening with senior policymakers from select African countries on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF’s annual meetings, while Landry Signe lent his expertise on trade policy to the United States Congress and the World Trade Organization, among others. Keep an eye out for the upcoming 2023 edition of Foresight Africa, which will provide more insight from these scholars and more concerning the most pressing policy considerations on the continent.
The Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings had a remarkable 2022. @Aloysiusordu looks back on a high-profile convening, speaks about the importance of featuring diverse African voices, and teases the new edition of #ForesightAfrica coming in 2023. #GlobalLookback2022 pic.twitter.com/0NoAia4jvA
— Brookings Global (@BrookingsGlobal) December 20, 2022
Center for Sustainable DevelopmentIn 2022, the Center for Sustainable Development saw major success in Tony Pipa’s work on rural communities in the United States and the Reimagine Rural podcast. Climate change also took a prominent place this year—both Homi Kharas and Amar Bhattacharya focused their research efforts on climate policy, particularly the central role of developing countries and the urgent need for climate finance. Their upcoming edited volume, releasing this year, will shed more light on this increasingly vital subject. Center Director John McArthur discussed furthering progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the 17 Rooms initiative. With 2023 marking the midpoint of the SDG timeline, many of our scholars pointed to the necessity of a renewed, global focus on the SDGs in 2023. McArthur also highlighted the center’s deepened focus on gender equality as a core task of sustainable development.
.@mcarthur—director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Brookings—reflects on the #17Rooms initiative, the importance of gender equity in sustainable development, and looks ahead to 2023. #GlobalLookback2022 pic.twitter.com/KX3rb0PuWz
— Brookings Global (@BrookingsGlobal) December 22, 2022
Center for Universal EducationAs the Center for Universal Education celebrated its 20th anniversary, Deputy Director Jennifer O’Donoghue stressed the value of collaboration with stakeholders of all levels and localities in transforming education systems. The year’s successes reflect this holistic view: Helen Hadani worked to make cities worldwide centers for accessible learning, while Omar Qargha’s work on financial literacy in Jordan emphasized local involvement for sustainable scaling to the national level. In 2023, Emily Morris looks forward to the conclusion of a 15-year study following students in Zanzibar, Tanzania, to identify sources of and barriers to their success.
Last year, the Center for Universal Education at Brookings celebrated its 20th anniversary.
As part of our #GlobalLookback2022, @jennodjod recaps the important lessons learned from two decades of work that the center is bringing into 2023. pic.twitter.com/DEgO7UOSIr
— Brookings Global (@BrookingsGlobal) December 21, 2022
Elsewhere in Global, fellows narrowed in on specific areas of interest. Danielle Resnick continued her work on food systems transformation in Africa. Zia Qureshi analyzed how technological change is shaping economies and policies. And Carol Graham delved into the benefits of investing in brain capital for public health and economic growth.
Our scholars collaborated across policy areas to produce over 350 works in 2022 focused on enhancing global development. We’re looking forward to an even better 2023.
Find the full set of interviews on Twitter using #GlobalLookback2022.
On February 25th, Nigeria will hold federal elections. Nigeria is the largest democracy in Africa and one of the largest multiparty democracies in the world. Incumbent Muhammadu Buhari is respecting term limits and stepping aside, leaving and open field.
In recent history, Nigerian politics has been dominated by two parties. But with about one month before elections there is a surprising third party candidate, Peter Obi, who is leading in the polls on a surge of support by young Nigerians.
Guest Cynthia Mbamalu is director of programs for Yiaga Africa, a civil society organization that works to promote democracy in Africa. She explains how and why young people in Nigeria may determine the outcome of Nigeria’s elections.
We kick off discussing the major candidates before having an in depth conversation about the youth vote, including how a protest movement against police brutality has inspired a youth political awakening.
To listen to this episode on your favorite podcast player, go here.
The post Why Young People May Determine the Outcome of Major Elections in Nigeria appeared first on UN Dispatch.
Official data is only gathered at irregular intervals, however, and it only captures people who have officially registered as unemployed. It leaves out, for example, the underemployed, informally employed and people working in jobs not suited to their qualifications. The methodology, which comes from Europe and North America, is of questionable use, particularly considering the large informal sector. This problem affects Ghana as well as other African countries, as the Ghanaian economist William Baah-Boateng (2016) has pointed out. According to a report by the World Bank (Dadzie et al. 2020), over half of those who are not officially considered unemployed are underemployed.
Irit Ittner 16.06.2022 Informal markets in Africa under pressure BMZ support for seven African countriesGermany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is tackling this problem. Since 2019, it has been supporting measures to promote employment in a total of seven African countries as part of the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation (Sonderinitiative Ausbildung und Beschäftigung). In Ghana, the project has a total budget of € 38.3 million for the period from 2019 to 2025. The initiative also operates under the name “Invest for Jobs”. It is integrated into a more comprehensive project by the G20 states entitled “Compact with Africa”. In Ghana, GIZ is coordinating projects that cut across all sectors of the economy – from training bus drivers to supporting small farmers to telecommunications and IT. (For more on the IT sector in Ghana, see main story.)
The initiative is pursuing a variety of goals. On the one hand, the African countries that are receiving support are those that have made particularly good progress in the effort to achieve good governance. On the other hand, quick successes in employment promotion also have top priority. By supporting development on a local level, the initiative also aims at reducing the pressure of migration to Europe.
References
Baah-Boateng, W., 2016: The youth unemployment challenge in Africa: What are
the drivers? In: The Economic and Labour Relations Review, Vol. 27 (4).
Dadzie, C. E., Fumey, M., Namara, S., 2020: Youth employment programs in Ghana: Options for effective policy making and implementation. International development in focus. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Marian Burchardt is a professor at the Institute for Sociology at Leipzig University and director of the research project presented here.
marian.burchardt@uni-leipzig.de
Florian Stoll has a postdoc position at the Institute for Sociology/Research Center Global Dynamics at Leipzig University and researches the reasons for job changes in Ghana as part of the project presented here.
florian.stoll@uni-leipzig.de
contributed to D+C/E+Z in winter of 2022/2023 as a professor at the Institute for Sociology at Leipzig University.
Florian Stoll
contributed to D+C/E+Z in winter of 2022/2023. He has a postdoc position at the Institute for Sociology/Research Center Global Dynamics at Leipzig University.
Überall anzeigencontributed to D+C/E+Z in winter of 2022/2023. She is working for the German development agency GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit).
contributed to D+C/E+Z in winter of 2022/2023. She is head of the “Social Development, Migration, Integration” department of the Academy for Politics and Contemporary Affairs at the Hanns-Seidel-Foundation and spokesperson for the “Migration, Integration, World Population” working group of the German Society for Demography (DGD).
contributed to D+C/E+Z in winter of 2022/2023 as Professor of Empirical Social Research at Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg and a spokesperson for the “Migration, Integration, World Population” working group of the German Society for Demography (DGD).
contributed to D+C/E+Z in winter of 2022/2023 as a researcher at the Federal Institute for Population Research in Wiesbaden, Germany.