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SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

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Abstract: In this article, using a sample of African countries, we test the hypothesis of a non-linear effect of corruption on financial development in the presence of weak public institutions. We also determine the institutional quality threshold at which corruption 'greases' or 'sands' the wheels of financial development. We carry out this empirical study using the dynamic panel quadratic polynomial approach and the panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) approach. Three main results emerge. First, the relationship between corruption and financial development is non-linear and U-shaped. This relationship remains non-linear when the weak quality of public institutions is taken into account. Second, the effect of corruption on financial development depends on the quality of institutions. But the nature of the effect depends on the proxy for institutional quality used. Third, there is an institutional quality threshold at which the relationship between corruption and financial development becomes non-linear.

Abstract: How to improve security and strengthen the rule of law in fragile states? Community policing programs have long been at the forefront of policymakers’ efforts to address this challenge. These programs tend to be more expansive than those found in developed countries, focusing not only on building trust through meetings and foot patrols, but also on eliciting ‘coproduction’ from communities to supplement scarce police capacity and provide alternatives to vigilantism. I partnered with the Liberian National Police (LNP) to experimentally evaluate the effectiveness of this approach in Monrovia, Liberia, one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most crime-ridden cities. Drawing on a large-scale resident survey and administrative crime data, I find that the program improved relations between police and citizens, strengthened social norms against vigilantism, and mobilized communities to participate in the police’s “Watch Forum” initiative by forming and sustaining local security groups designed to facilitate cooperation with police. These changes were accompanied by a roughly 40% reduction in the incidence of mob violence. Despite these improvements, the program did not reduce the overall incident of crime, improve perceptions of security, or increase crime reporting.

Abstract: Rule of law spending conditionality marks a turn in the EU’s strategy in the 2020s. The entry of this value into the budgetary sphere represents an economization process, creating room for the development of a transactional approach to rule of law compliance. This article defines this conceptual framework and examines the extent of its application through the case study of three budgetary instruments used during the 2021–2027 cycle: the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation and the horizontal enabling condition of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Contributing to the recent Europeanization literature, it also emphasizes the change in European governance and in the EU–Member State relationship triggered by the new conditionality culture following the succession of European crises, moving from a traditional politico‐legal enforcement model to a transactional one.

Abstract: The Covid-19 crisis provided an opportunity for the European Union to offer an alternative regulatory response to the crisis of values by systemically linking European funding to respect for the rule of law. A rule of law conditionality mechanism for spending was introduced in the Recovery and Resilience Facility and in Regulation 2020/2092. It is both positive – in that it encourages Member States to implement reforms and investments aimed at improving the rule of law – and negative – in that it takes the form of financial sanctions. However, the development of the rule of law conditionality is leading to an economisation of the concept of the rule of law, insofar as it mainly concerns those dimensions of the rule of law that are conducive to growth – such as justice systems and the fight against corruption. As a result, it could paradoxically exacerbate the very crisis it is designed to resolve.

Abstract:  Criminal prosecution, as one of the transitional justice mechanisms, aims to address the legacies of serious human rights violations and international humanitarian law. The mandate of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is to bring perpetrators of atrocity crimes to justice by initiating investigations, issuing arrest warrants and conducting criminal trials. At the heart of ICC's mandate is the Prosecutor, whose powers are indispensable for achieving peace, access to justice and accountability in the international community. Sustainable Development Goal16 (SDG 16) is characterised by its focus on nurturing peaceful and inclusive societies, ensuring access to justice, and strengthening effective institutions. This paper explores the intersection of SDG16 with the discretionary powers vested in the ICC Prosecutor in investigating and prosecuting atrocity crimes. Employing a doctrinal approach, it critically examines legal frameworks, principles, and case precedents to unravel the intricacies and implications of prosecutorial discretion. The paper reveals the diverse array of influences that guide the ICC Prosecutor's selection of situations and cases, encompassing legal and extra-legal considerations. Notably, the paper emphasises the substantial impact of the ICC Prosecutor's discretionary powers on the advancement of SDG16, particularly in investigations, case prioritisation, and collaboration with national jurisdictions. Furthermore, the paper recommends proactive cooperation and positive complementarity among states to effectively realise the objectives of SDG 16.

Abstract: Does hosting UN Peacekeeping Operations (UN PKOs) increase multilateral foreign aid inflows into civil war-affected countries? Under what conditions do UN PKOs make multilateral foreign aid effective, enhancing governance quality? Multilateral foreign aid agencies increasingly focus on good governance as an allocation criterion. However, multilateral aid assistance faces dilemmas when allocating aid since it undermines the credibility of government commitments to good governance. This study argues that UN PKOs mitigate such uncertainty by initiating democratization, capacity-building, and political participation while mitigating political violence, thereby increasing the multilateral aid inflows. In missions involving these initiations, multilateral aid effectively enhances governance quality. These arguments are tested using a sample of countries that have experienced civil wars between 1991 and 2009. The findings suggest that UN PKOs increase the multilateral aid inflows. Moreover, increasing multilateral aid is more effective in improving the governance quality when missions have capacity-building or electoral tasks.

Abstract: This paper explores the barriers to and opportunities for Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16) in fostering peace in Arab states. Examining the region’s recurring conflicts, the analysis emphasises the need for peace-centered sustainable development. The paper identifies the main challenges facing the implementation of SDG 16 and offers strategic opportunities for overcoming them.

Abstract: This special issue critically examines the interplay between the law and politics of state trans/formation, status precarity and the abuse of law. Globally, governments have exercised state power to undermine citizenship status, democratic well-being and the rule of law. This introduction makes the case for this focus and highlights the range of the special issue's intervention. Firstly, it shows how the contributions in the special issue build upon scholarship that tackles these three values independently and offers a more comprehensive analysis of contemporary challenges of the law and politics of citizenship. It studies the mutual attrition of citizenship, law and democracy by adopting a focus on South and Southeast Asia, especially India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Secondly, it emphasises the special issue's methodological contribution by drawing from the theory-generative capacities of focusing on Asia and the Global South more generally. Thirdly, the introduction highlights the cross-cutting substantive contributions of the articles, especially status liminality and statelessness, securitisation and authoritarian politics, bureaucracy and paperwork, and minority and human rights.

Abstract: This study examines the relationship between globalisation and inclusive growth by considering the modulating role of institutional quality. To achieve our broad objective, we use data from 45 African economies over 1996–2018 to determine the panel cointegration and cointegrating regression association between inclusive growth, globalisation and institutional quality. To determine a suitable estimation technique for the empirical analysis, several pre-estimation tests were conducted. After confirming the existence of cointegration and slope heterogeneity, we adapted the long-run panel cointegrating methods—the fully modified ordinary least squares and dynamic ordinary least squares estimations. The results from both show that aggregate globalisation and its various dimensions have positive and significant effects on inclusive growth. Besides the direct positive impact on inclusive growth, globalisation has indirect positive and significant impact on inclusive growth through institutional quality. Finally, some policy implications are highlighted.

Abstract: The vast majority of sub-Saharan countries have adopted constitutional clauses establishing that elected presidents cannot serve more than two mandates. While an extensive literature has examined why African leaders comply with or else try to manipulate term limits, the policy implications of the latter remain unexplored. Existing studies of other world regions suggest that setting a maximum number of terms presidents can serve tends to make them ‘lame ducks’ during their final mandate. We reconsider this argument, and posit and demonstrate empirically that constitutional limits can actually induce positive effects on second-term presidents' actions compared to their first terms. More specifically, the absence of electoral pressures, the concern for their post-presidential future and legacy-building motivations may lead to improvements in the rule of law, especially regarding the functioning of the judiciary. This article represents the first empirical investigation of the performance of Africa's second-term lame-duck presidents.

Abstract: The aim of this article is to identify the factors underlying the success of peace negotiations in Africa, with particular emphasis on the role of UN peacekeepers. We analyze African Peace Processes (APP) data over the period 1989–2019 using the binary logistic model. Our results show that the deployment of UN peacekeepers is associated with the success of mediation efforts, both in intra-state and non-state conflicts. On the other hand, the presence of peacekeepers is detrimental to the success of bilateral negotiations. These results thus highlight that the ambiguity surrounding the effectiveness of UN forces in the peaceful management of conflicts depends on the presence or absence of a mediator. Consequently, political decision-makers should combine the deployment of peacekeeping forces with mediation initiatives to achieve peaceful conflict management. On the other hand, this should not be envisaged within the framework of bilateral negotiations, at the risk of producing opposite effects.

Abstract: The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH, 2004–2017) was an unprecedented effort of Latin American peacekeeping. Nine countries contributed the majority of troops to the mission in which regional governments sought to handle a security crisis in their neighbourhood rather than leaving the lead to western countries. However, when the mission came to an end after thirteen years, peacekeeping faded from the regional and national security agendas, with the exception of Uruguay. How and why did MINUSTAH impact the region's current hesitation to engage in peace operations? To answer this question, the article draws on assemblage theory and uses data from policy documents, academic literature and previous research on peacekeeping in Latin America. I argue that contrary to what Latin America's current, limited peacekeeping engagement suggests, MINUSTAH produced significant changes in the region's political landscape. While these could have paved the way to greater involvement in peace operations, however, parallel developments shaped Latin American security policies and military planning at the expense of the region's future participation in UN peacekeeping. The article adds to existing scholarship by probing the conditions that drive the temporality of assemblages and provides a new perspective on Latin American peacekeeping.

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