Critical reflections on 15 years of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)

This special section of The Extractive Industries and Society brings together viewpoints and research articles 15 years after the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was launched, which reflect critically on the extent to which the EITI informs, empowers and improves resource governance. The papers provide important insight into the impact and effectiveness of the EITI, the role of civil society in the EITI process, the need to make disclosure more relevant to citizens and local communities, and the national politics of transparency in resource governance. While transparency itself is insufficient in addressing the multifaceted problems resource-rich countries face, revenue transparency can be viewed as an ‘entry point’ into a conflicting conversation between companies, governments and civil society where trust and consensus can be built on issues beyond revenue. Future work needs to evaluate the effect of EITI more fully in the context of other initiatives operating globally and at the national and subnational levels, and for what and for whom these spaces of policy and practice are being framed and produced

Veto Players in Post-Conflict DDR Programs: Evidence from Nepal and the DRC

Under what conditions are Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programs successfully implemented following intrastate conflict? Previous research is dominated by under-theorized case studies that lack the ability to detect the precise factors and mechanisms that lead to successful DDR. In this article, we draw on game theory and ask how the number of veto players, their policy distance, and their internal cohesion impact DDR implementation. Using empirical evidence from Nepal and the Democratic Republic of Congo, we show that the number of veto players, rather than their distance and cohesion, explains the (lack of) implementation of DDR

Literature Review: Democracy and Human Rights in contemporary Latin America (2015-2020) Trends, challenges, and prospects

Abstract Through a review of scholarly and other well-informed articles as well as media reports, this CMI Report aims to summarize discussions on challenges for democracy and human rights in Latin America during the last half-decade. The region faces a highly difficult economic outlook, consisting of low commodity prices and stagnant growth, threatening a historic backlash in the access to basic goods (including food) and services (not least health). The coronavirus pandemic may have a completely devastating effect on Latin American societies. After the end of the “pink tide”, the survey registers a regional democratic decline, breakdown of democratic systems in some countries and more widespread concerns of democratic erosion; electoral success for anti-incumbent candidates but also a rise of youth protest and fundamental political reform claims. While the human rights agenda has expanded tremendously, a current trend is that fundamental political rights may be endangered. There are serious threats to security and the right to life, and an increasing authoritarian trend (most visible in Venezuela, Nicaragua, Brazil, and El Salvador). Cuba, here treated as a special case, finds itself at a critical juncture, right before the definitive end of the Castro era, leaving the fundamental challenge for younger generations to prepare for a soft landing or risking a full regime collapse. Geopolitical rivalry between the US, China, and Russia leaves a particular responsibility to Europe to facilitate conflict resolution and peacemaking as well as resolution