Seeing Political Settlements through the City: A Framework for Comparative Analysis of Urban Transformation

This article proposes a new analytical framework for studying cities in the developing world based on the ‘political settlements’ approach. This has a dual purpose: to enrich comparative urban development research by bringing new theoretical ideas to bear on this field, but also to use capital cities as a lens to better understand national political settlements. The central argument is that urban built environments and their transformations in situations of late development reflect the workings of different varieties of clientelism, and by analysing the former we can better understand the latter. Specifically, issues such as the nature of urban land use and land allocation, the pace and form of construction, the effectiveness of environmental regulation and the provision of housing for different income groups are all revealing of political settlements and their broader development implications. The potential of this approach is explored through three narrative ‘sketches’ of contemporary urban development in Eastern Africa: the ‘city as marketplace’ (Kampala), the ‘city as expo’ (Kigali) and the ‘city as construction site’ (Addis Ababa). In presenting this framework, the article seeks to advance debate on methodological and analytical approaches to the study of both power relations and differential patterns of urban development

Governmental Institutions as Agents of Change: Rethinking American Political Development in the Early Republic, 1787-1835

During the past few years, a new generation of historians have turned their attention to the influence of law, public policy, and public administration in American life in the period between 1787 and 1835. The purpose of this essay is to highlight the contributions of these scholars in the hope that such an inquiry can further the ongoing interdisciplinary dialogue on American political development between historians, political scientists, and historical sociologists

Assessing changes in HIV-related legal and policy environments: Lessons learned from a multi-country evaluation.

There is growing recognition in the health community that the legal environment-including laws, policies, and related procedures-impacts vulnerability to HIV and access to HIV-related services both positively and negatively. Assessing changes in the legal environment and how these affect HIV-related outcomes, however, is challenging, and understanding of appropriate methodologies nascent.We conducted an evaluation of a UNDP project designed to strengthen legal environments to support the human rights of key populations, in particular LGBT populations, women and girls, affected by HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. We analyzed data on activities designed to improve legal environments through a systematic document review and 53 qualitative interviews.The project made substantial strides towards legal change in many places, and examples provide broader lessons for work in this area. Two core pillars appear fundamental: a government-led participatory assessment of the legal environment, and building the capacity of those impacted by and engaged in this work. Systematic attention to human rights is vital: it can help open new spaces for dialogue among diverse stakeholders, foster new collaborations, and ensure local ownership, nuanced understanding of the political landscape, attention to marginalized populations, and accountability for (in)action. Entry points for effecting legal change go beyond "HIV laws" to also include other laws, national policies and strategies.Conducting legal environment assessments, multi-stakeholder dialogues, action planning and related activities, alongside capacity building, can contribute to changes in knowledge and attitudes directly relevant to reforming laws that are found to be harmful. Shorter-term goals along the causal pathway to legal change (e.g. changes in policy) can constitute interim markers of success, and recognition of these can maintain momentum. Increasing understanding of progress towards changes in the legal environment that can positively affect HIV-related outcomes is important in working to improve the health and lives of people living with HIV

Assessing and evaluating community organizations' capacity for working in HIV|AIDS responses in India, Ecuador and Cambodia

Civil society programmes and funding mechanisms need tools to assess capacities of organizations to identify credible partners and further build their capacity to absorb funds and implement programmes. However, for all the investment in capacity building, results and impact are often difficult to evaluate, although most programmes monitor process indicators. The International HIV|AIDS Alliance is running a multi-country prevention programme with over 60 community organizations where participatory analysis of partners' capacities at the beginning of a programme will accelerate capacity building and provide baseline data to evaluate increases in capacity and impacts on programme outcomes. The work has contributed to a new printed toolkit for analysing NGO capacity. Unlike many assessment tools, the toolkit provides participatory training hand-in-hand with participatory appraisal methods, to enable organisations to critically reflect and motivate for change internally. The scope of the toolkit goes beyond traditional organisational development, to look at other areas of capacity instrumental for organisations providing services and working for change related to HIV|AIDS. The toolkit is freely available from the organisation's website ( www.aidsalliance.org ). Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.