International Cooperation
As Perspetivas de Cooperação Económica entre Portugal e a China
Abstract:
As Perspetivas de Cooperação Económica entre Portugal e a China exposes how Since the state visit of President Xi Jinping to Portugal in December 2018, a framework for diplomatic relations between Portugal and China has been established, with a high level of cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, investment and finance, energy, technology, blue economy, education and culture. Of the 17 cooperation protocols signed then between Portuguese and Chinese governmental and private institutions, one is of particular relevance because it structures in a very significant way the level of cooperation between the two countries and its framework in the new global context. I am referring to the cooperation protocol between the governments of Portugal and China, within the framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt Initiative and the New 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The presence of Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at the “Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation”, which was held in Beijing from 25 to 27 April 2019, confirms the importance of the signing of this protocol and the prospects for economic cooperation that it opens, both in bilateral and multilateral relations. According to the signed document, the vision of the multilaterality of this cooperation is expressed with regard to other EU countries but implicit in the relationship with other Portuguese-speaking countries, mostly African developing countries, with the Belt and Road Initiative (IFR) focusing especially on connectivity between countries aimed at sustainable development objectives.
Quotation:
Fernanda Ilhéu (2019), As Perspetivas de Cooperação Económica entre Portugal e a China. O Economista-Anuário da Economia Portuguesa, 32ª Edição, Ordem dos Economistas, ISBN 1646-9909, pp:40-45, Lisboa.
Qualidade da Justiça na Guiné-Bissau. Avaliação e recomendações.
Abstract:
The debate on justice is fundamental to understanding the conditions for the realisation of fundamental rights. The reflection on justice and human rights in Guinea-Bissau, which permeates the project “Cooperation in the Promotion of Human Rights: the case of Justice in Guinea-Bissau in the Rights Observatory”, promoted by ACEP and CEsA and funded by Camões-ICL, is part of the work of both organisations with the Guinean League of Human Rights in the Rights Observatory. Since 2015, this Observatory has been collecting and analysing data, throughout the territory of Guinea-Bissau, on the realisation of social and economic rights, and the reflection on justice represents a contribution to stimulating debate and knowledge on one of the most important monitoring areas for the country’s development. Furthermore, ACEP participated, as an associated organisation, in a project of the Guinean Human Rights League on impunity in Guinea-Bissau, and researchers from CEsA have carried out research and published articles on justice, the State and international cooperation in this country. Qualidade da Justiça na Guiné-Bissau. Avaliação e recomendações was prepared based on the ideas and preparatory texts of a report for UNDP in 2015 on the quality of justice in Guinea-Bissau. This update sought, through some fieldwork with magistrates and judicial officials, to understand whether or not the instability that the country experienced between 2015 and 2019 allowed for some improvements in the quality of justice in Guinea-Bissau. It also included data collected by projects after 2015 on the population’s relationship with justice in general. At the same time, the option of not dealing with traditional justice was maintained, focusing only on the state justice system.
Quotation:
Sangreman, Carlos e Luis Vaz Martins (2019). “Qualidade da Justiça na Guiné-Bissau. Avaliação e recomendações”.In Justiça e direitos humanos na Guiné-Bissau, Debates e Perspetivas. ISBN 978-989-8625-18-2, 2019, ACEP e CESA, Lisboa.
Acesso a Justiça, Direitos e Prisões na Guiné – Bissau. Dados e Perceções 2010-2018
Abstract:
The debate on justice is fundamental to understanding the conditions for the realisation of fundamental rights. The reflection on justice and human rights in Guinea-Bissau, which permeates the project “Cooperation in the Promotion of Human Rights: the case of Justice in Guinea-Bissau in the Rights Observatory”, promoted by ACEP and CEsA and funded by Camões-ICL, is part of the work of both organisations with the Guinean League of Human Rights in the Rights Observatory. Since 2015, this Observatory has been collecting and analysing data, throughout the territory of Guinea-Bissau, on the realisation of social and economic rights, and the reflection on justice represents a contribution to stimulating debate and knowledge on one of the most important monitoring areas for the country’s development. Furthermore, ACEP participated, as an associated organisation, in a project of the Guinean Human Rights League on impunity in Guinea-Bissau, and researchers from CEsA have carried out research and published articles on justice, the state and international cooperation in this country. Acesso a Justiça, Direitos e Prisões na Guiné – Bissau. Dados e Perceções 2010-2018 aims to contribute to the understanding of the evolution of access to justice by the population in Guinea-Bissau over the last 18 years of the 21st century, based on existing documents, data collected by the Observatory of Rights, the Justice Support Centres (CAJ) and surveys, projects and studies that collect data on this theme even though it is not their main focus.
Quotation:
Sangreman, Carlos, Bubacar Turé e Rita Cavaco (2019). “Acesso a Justiça, Direitos e Prisões na Guiné – Bissau. Dados e Perceções 2010-2018”.in Justiça e direitos humanos na Guiné-Bissau, Debates e Perspetivas. ISBN 978-989-8625-18-2, 2019, ACEP e CESA, Lisboa.
Innovation in development cooperation: emerging trajectories and implications for inclusive sustainable development in the 21st century
Abstract:
In the past twenty years, innovation has slowly, but steadily, become an important presence in development cooperation discourse and practice. The ambitious UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda has accelerated this trend, providing a strong framework for the main argument in favour of an innovation agenda for international development: without new ideas and innovative solutions, solving the current global development challenges will not be possible. Although this innovation-push is in line with a wider predominant view of innovation as an inherently positive force of progress, that alone does not explain when, how, and why innovation becomes a key topic in the field. This article seeks to fill this gap in the literature, providing an initial overview of innovation in development cooperation in the post-2000s. It argues, firstly, that innovation has always been part of international development policy and practice. Secondly, it links the recent strengthening of the innovation discourse to three trends in the systemic transformation of the field: the triumph of metrics-based agendas, the ICTs and digitalization revolutions, and the role of private sector actors. It concludes by critically assessing the implications of this narrative in changing the politics of innovation towards more inclusive sustainable development policies and practices.
Quotation:
Ana Luísa Silva (2021) Innovation in development cooperation: emerging trajectories and implications for inclusive sustainable development in the 21st century, Innovation and Development, 11:1, 151-171, DOI: 10.1080/2157930X.2020.1807100
Innovation Perspectives in International Development Cooperation: The case of organised civil society
Abstract:
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are still in the side-lines of the emerging literature on innovation in international development cooperation, although the topic has been gaining prominence since the 2000s, accompanying the wider transformation of the development cooperation field. Innovation perspectives in international development cooperation: the case of organised civil society presents the results of a mixed methods research that involved a broad geographic sample of 20 NGO national co-ordinating bodies through an online survey and semi-structured interviews. The goal was to map and analyse innovation perspectives, motivations, and practices in these organisations, understand their relationship with mainstream views of innovation in the field and uncover their potential to promote inclusive innovation. Results suggest that these actors have potential to promote inclusive innovation practices in the field, since they approach innovation with social change as an end goal, as opposed to having an overly solutionist and problem-solving view of social innovation. The paper also highlights the key role of information and communications technologies, as well as digital tools, as both a reason to innovate and enablers of innovation in these organisations. Finally, the conclusion leaves questions open for further research on innovation in development NGOs.
Quotation:
Silva, A. L. (2022). Innovation perspectives in international development cooperation: the case of organised civil society. Cambio. Rivista Sulle Trasformazioni Sociali. https://doi.org/10.36253/cambio-12283
NGOs and Innovation
Abstract:
Over the past twenty years, and against the backdrop of a profound transformation in the international development cooperation sector, innovation has resurged as a ‘hot’ topic in the field. In the same period, development non-governmental organisations (NGOs) face growing challenges of legitimacy, accountability, and dependence on government funding. Their role as precursors of alternative development models, natural social innovators, and catalysts of international solidarity movements is increasingly being questioned. These challenges have been further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Existing research on development NGO innovation focuses, like most classic innovation research in other fields, on studying specific, usually successful, innovations; leaving many questions unanswered on topics like innovation failure, processes, culture, funding, motivations, as well as the role of NGOs in innovation for development. This chapter, NGOs and Innovation, by Ana Luísa Silva, gives an overview of the state of the art on development NGOs and innovation, identifying areas that are open for further research. This article is inserted in A Research Agenda for Civil Society, a book by Kees Biekart and Alan Fowler.
Quotation:
Silva, A. L. (2022). NGOs and Innovation. In K. Biekart & A. Fowler (Ed.), A Research Agenda for Civil Society (pp. 127-142). Elgar Research Agendas. Edward Elgar. ISBN: 978 1 80037 814 8
The Routledge Handbook of EU-Africa Relations
Abstract:
This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the changing dynamics in the relationship between the African continent and the EU, provided by leading experts in the field. Structured into five parts, the book provides an incisive look at the past, present and potential futures of EU-Africa relations. The cutting-edge chapters cover themes like multilateralism, development assistance, institutions, gender equality and science and technology, among others. Thoroughly researched, this book provides original reflections from a diversity of conceptual and theoretical perspectives, from experts in Africa, Europe and beyond. The handbook thus offers rich and comprehensive analyses of contemporary global politics as manifested in Africa and Europe. This handbook will be an essential reference for scholars, students, researchers, policy makers and practitioners interested and working in a range of fields within the (sub)disciplines of African and EU studies, European politics and international studies. The Routledge Handbook of EU-Africa Relations, by Luís Mah (researcher for the Centre for African and Development Studies), Nial Duggan and Toni Haastrup is part of the mini-series Europe in the World Handbooks examining EU-regional relations and established by Professor Wei Shen.
Quotation:
Mah, Luís, Duggan, Nial & Haastrup, Toni (2021). The Routledge Handbook of EU-Africa Relations. Routledge. ISBN 9781315170916.
Portugal e o Bazar Africano: Mapeando trocas comerciais, fluxos de investimento e de ajuda ao desenvolvimento
Abstract:
Authored by Luís Mah, Portugal e o bazar africano: Mapeando trocas comerciais, fluxos de investimento e de ajuda ao desenvolvimento (with Rodrigo Ferreira do Amaral and Tcherno Baldé) is the fifth chapter of the e-book “Política Externa Portuguesa e África: Contextos e Tendências Contemporâneo” by A, Raimundo. In recent decades, Africa has gone from a ‘hopeless’ continent to an attractive and potential frontier market. The rapid economic changes in the region have benefited from new patterns of global engagement, involving emerging economies such as China or India. These developments have promoted increasing South-South cooperation, with several African countries seeking greater integration into the world economy. This chapter begins by analysing the current African economic context. Next, it explores how Portugal has developed its economic presence and cooperation on the continent since the mid-1970s, considering three indicators: trade, investment and development aid. Finally, the article assesses the challenges and opportunities for Portugal’s economic relations with Sub-Saharan Africa.
Quotation:
Mah, Luís (2019). Portugal e o bazar africano: Mapeando trocas comerciais, fluxos de investimento e de ajuda ao desenvolvimento (com Rodrigo Ferreira do Amaral e Tcherno Baldé) Em Política Externa Portuguesa e África: Contextos e Tendências Contemporâneo editado por António Raimundo, Lisboa: Centro de Estudos Internacionais, ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa. ISBN 978-989-781-168-5. Cap. 5. pp. 121-139.
Contributo para uma leitura sobre práticas de cooperação para o desenvolvimento. O Projeto PAIPA implementado na Guiné-Bissau.
Abstract:
Contributo para uma leitura sobre práticas de cooperação para o desenvolvimento. O Projeto PAIPA implementado na Guiné-Bissau refers to an evaluation work of the Project to Support the Intensification of Food Production (PAIPA), a development cooperation project in the field of agriculture, included under the scope of Portuguese cooperation with Guinea-Bissau. The main objective was to construct an Evaluation focused on the intervention methodology designed for the implementation of the project, analysing the pathways, actions and resources mobilized to achieve the central objective of promoting the transition from traditional family-based agriculture in Guinea-Bissau to cash crop agriculture. The project documentation was analysed, interviews were conducted in Portugal and Guinea-Bissau with technicians and cooperation agents, local informants and PAIPA beneficiaries in the regions where the intervention took place. PAIPA was considered a successful project because it is based on respect for local specificities and is committed to the involvement of the target populations.
Quotation:
Frias, Sónia, (2019), “Contributo para uma leitura sobre práticas de cooperação para o desenvolvimento. O Projeto PAIPA implementado na Guiné-Bissau” in Alvarez, Teresa, Teresa Joaquim e Teresa Pinto (org.) Estudos sobre as Mulheres – conhecimentos itinerantes, percursos partilhados, Estudos sobre as Mulheres 1. Lisboa. CEMRI/UAberta. ISBN 978-972-674-863-2.
Futuro(s) da Cooperação: Continuidades e rupturas
Abstract:
At a time when a new strategy for Portuguese Cooperation is being defined and profound changes are taking place at the global level, ACEP and CEsA have decided to mark their years of experience in the sector with a document that is intended as a contribution towards evaluating the path of Portuguese Cooperation policy and setting the course for possible futures. In Futuro(s) da Cooperação: Continuidades e Rupturas, in addition to our vision and questions about the policies of Portuguese and European cooperation and the role of civil society, we have also included other voices of partners and specialists, particularly from Africa, which run through the whole document and give it a more plural, multidisciplinary and multi-geographic character. This document was prepared by the ACEP team, within the framework of an advocacy and political influence project, developed in partnership with CEsA (CSG/ISEG/ULisboa), with the support of Camões – Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua. Alongside the rescue of principles and values – in speech and in practice – a serious and uncomplicated discussion must be started on power relations and the ‘delocalisation of aid’, laid bare by the pandemic crisis. This debate, already on the agenda in countries like the United Kingdom, is still absent in Portuguese Cooperation. An approach to the localisation of cooperation as a process of autonomisation implies a process logic, without a fixed time, in which non-financial resources are valued, which allows for a subjective space/time for growth and which lasts beyond this or that funding or project.
Quotation:
Oliveira, A. F., Proença, F., Cavaco, R. (2021). Futuro(s) da Cooperação: Continuidades e rupturas. Lisboa: ACEP e CEsA.
