13 research outputs found
Political strategies of external support for democratization
Political strategies of external support to democratization are contrasted and critically examined in respect of the United States and European Union. The analysis begins by defining its terms of reference and addresses the question of what it means to have a strategy. The account briefly notes the goals lying behind democratization support and their relationship with the wider foreign policy process, before considering what a successful strategy would look like and how that relates to the selection of candidates. The literature's attempts to identify strategy and its recommendations for better strategies are compared and assessed. Overall, the article argues that the question of political strategies of external support for democratization raises several distinct but related issues including the who?, what?, why?, and how? On one level, strategic choices can be expected to echo the comparative advantage of the "supporter." On a different level, the strategies cannot be divorced from the larger foreign policy framework. While it is correct to say that any sound strategy for support should be grounded in a theoretical understanding of democratization, the literature on strategies reveals something even more fundamental: divergent views about the nature of politics itself. The recommendations there certainly pinpoint weaknesses in the actual strategies of the United States and Europe but they have their own limitations too. In particular, in a world of increasing multi-level governance strategies for supporting democratization should go beyond preoccupation with just an "outside-in" approach
Measuring the capability to raise revenue process and output dimensions and their application to the Zambia revenue authority
The worldwide diffusion of the good governance agenda and new public management has triggered a renewed focus on state capability and, more specifically, on the capability to raise revenue in developing countries. However, the analytical tools for a comprehensive understanding of the capability to raise revenue remain underdeveloped. This article aims at filling this gap and presents a model consisting of the three process dimensions âinformation collection and processingâ, âmerit orientationâ and âadministrative accountabilityâ. âRevenue performanceâ constitutes the fourth capability dimension which assesses tax administrationâs output. This model is applied to the case of the Zambia Revenue Authority. The dimensions prove to be valuable not only for assessing the how much but also the how of collecting taxes. They can be a useful tool for future comparative analyses of tax administrationsâ capabilities in developing countries.Die weltweite Verbreitung der Good-Governance- und New-Public-Management-Konzepte hat zu einer zunehmenden Konzentration auf staatliche Leistungsfähigkeit und, im Besonderen, auf die Leistungsfähigkeit der Steuererhebung in Entwicklungsländern gefĂźhrt. Allerdings bleiben die analytischen Werkzeuge fĂźr ein umfassendes Verständnis von Leistungsfähigkeit unterentwickelt. Dieser Artikel stellt hierfĂźr ein Modell vor, das die drei Prozess-Dimensionen âSammeln und Verarbeiten von Informationenâ, âLeistungsorientierung der Mitarbeiterâ und âVerantwortlichkeit der Verwaltungâ beinhaltet. âEinnahmeperformanzâ ist die vierte Dimension und erfasst den Output der Steuerverwaltung. Das mehrdimensionale Modell wird fĂźr die Analyse der Leistungsfähigkeit der SteuerbehĂśrde Zambias (Zambia Revenue Authority) genutzt. Es erweist sich nicht nur fĂźr die Untersuchung des Wieviel, sondern auch des Wie des Erhebens von Steuern als wertvoll. Die vier Dimensionen kĂśnnen in Zukunft zur umfassenden und vergleichenden Analyse der Leistungsfähigkeit verschiedener Steuerverwaltungen in Entwicklungsländern genutzt werden
Measuring the Capability to Raise Revenue: Process and Output Dimensions and Their Application to the Zambia Revenue Authority
Coherence, Consistency and Political Will in Foreign Policy:The European Union's Policy towards Africa
Blood-Biomarkers for Glucose Metabolism in Preterm Infants
This was an exploratory, prospective, longitudinal, cohort study that aimed to establish âhealthyâ reference levels related to growth parameters and glucose metabolites in preterm infants. This was conducted to further investigate growth and metabolic disturbances potentially related to neonatal illness. The study sample consisted of 108 preterm infants born before 32 weeks in 2018â2019 in the Capital Region of Denmark. Repetitive blood samples were acquired at the neonatal wards, while clinical data were obtained from the regional hospital medical record system. Thirty-four âhealthyâ preterm infants (31%) were identified. The âillâ infants were divided into four subgroups dependent on gestational age and small for gestational age. Reference levels for the growth parameters and metabolic biomarkers glucose, albumin, and adiponectin, and two glucose control indicators, glycated albumin and fructosamine, were determined for the âhealthyâ and âillâ subgroups. The âillâ extremely preterm infants had increased glucose levels (mean difference 0.71 mmol/L, 95% CI 0.23; 1.18 mmol/L) and glycated albumin (corrected; %) (mean difference 0.92 mmol/L, 95% CI 0.38 mmol/L;1.47 mmol/L) compared to the âhealthyâ infants. In âillâ extremely preterm infants and âillâ very preterm infants born small for gestational age, levels of biomarkers containing proteins were decreased. In the âIllâ extremely preterm infants and infants born small for gestational age, postnatal growth was continuously decreased throughout the postconceptional period. The short-term glucose-control indicator, glycated albumin (corrected; %), reflected well the high glucose levels due to its correction for the depleted plasma-protein pool