Somalia faces heightened public scrutiny as its government manages $92 million of E.U. budget support while striving to meet International Monetary Fund performance benchmarks. Its ability to adopt sound fiscal policy and improve financial governance will determine its eligibility for debt relief. At this critical juncture, the Federal Parliament of Somalia must strengthen its financial…
Bill Clay is a political and civil society organizer with more than twenty years of experience managing complex national and international development projects focused on parliamentary capacity building, media, and elections. He is currently the team leader for the Gole-Kaab (Support to Four State Assemblies) project based in Mogadishu, Somalia. Previously, he served as a…
Myanmar’s legal tradition is a unique combination of family customary law, codified English common law, and recent Myanmar legislation. In the five years since it embarked on its political transition, following the military government takeover and reorganization of courts, Myanmar continues to face a breadth of development challenges. Some of these include widespread poverty, an…
To modernize Sri Lanka’s justice system, the USAID Coherent, Open, Responsive, and Effective Justice (CORE Justice) program strengthened the performance of core justice sector institutions and actors through supporting digitization and automation, continuing legal education, as well as organizational and individual skill building. Working in close collaboration with key stakeholders in the judiciary, government, legal…
John Johnson is a former democracy and governance director in Chemonics’ Asia region. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University at Albany, master’s degree in political science, a master’s degree in African studies, and a bachelor’s degree in government.
Ukraine’s judicial system has long suffered from corruption, political interference, lack of transparency, and ineffectiveness in the administration of justice. To provide Ukrainian citizens with clearer, more effective access to judicial services, the USAID Nove Pravosuddya Justice Sector Reform Program (New Justice Program) created conditions for an independent, accountable, transparent, and effective justice system. This…
Nataliya Petrova is a lawyer, advocate, and media expert with 30 years of experience in legal representation, judicial training, legislative drafting and analysis, public policy, advocacy, and rule of law promotion in Ukraine. She has 20 years of work experience in an international environment with the Council of Europe, Open Society Institute, OSCE, OECD, and…
The government of Georgia recognizes the need to improve its key institutions and continue reforms, as important organizational and administrative systems are often underdeveloped and hinder the country’s growth. The USAID Human and Institutional Capacity Development PLUS (HICD PLUS) project strengthened institutions that play a significant role in implementing the government’s reforms, increasing government transparency,…
David Vaughn is an attorney with more than 20 years of experience in designing, implementing, and evaluating legal and judicial reform projects throughout Europe and Eurasia, Africa, and Latin America. He acted as rule of law advisor for the American Bar Association Central Europe and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA/CEELI) in Kazakhstan, helping to establish a…
Haitians tend to perceive justice as inaccessible to most citizens, especially in rural areas, and the pursuit of justice as costly and lengthy. The USAID Haiti Justice Sector Strengthening Program (JSSP) improved the country’s legal framework, protected citizens’ lawful rights, and increased accountability and oversight within the justice system. JSSP’s primary local counterparts are the…
Provincial governments in Iraq must further develop their skills, resources, and processes so that they can deliver municipal services to their citizens and meet community needs.
Does international development take place inside a political vacuum, where the difference between success and failure hinges purely on getting the technical aspects of an intervention right? Or does development take place inside the unpredictable — and, at times, chaotic — world of politics, where the fate of even the most technically sound solution depends…