Taking on a formidable challenge
Shahid Alam studies some conceptual analyses
Overcoming Human PovertyEssays on the Millennium Development
Goals and Beyond
Selim Jahan
The University Press Limited Development of a country, which is populated by human beings (and its flora and fauna, lest one forgets), essentially entails its human development. Viewed from this context, while it continues to be ranked in the low income category by the World Bank and other international institutions, and its human development, as measured by UNDP in its 2013 HDI report, still remains low, there is no denying that it has made significant progress in human development as compared to, to take an arbitrary timeframe, twenty years back. That, in the face of enormous man-made and natural adversities, is no mean achievement. Selim Jahan, once a professional academic and currently a high UNDP official, has written a methodical, if mechanical and didactic account of the state of human development in the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Though drawing somewhat on Bangladesh's experience, it is not limited to this country. Overcoming Human Poverty: Essays on the Millennium Development Goals and Beyond aims at, as the author articulates, "a better understanding of the issues related to the MDGs, to generate a development discourse and policy dialogue, and to induce debate on the post-2015 development agenda." Jahan begins with a cliché in the Preface to the volume: "Today the world is at a crossroads (sic)…. We now live in an unequal, unstable and unsustainable world" (italics in the original). With geopolitics and all that it entails being a constant presence in the international system for as long as recorded history, one would be hard pressed to single out any extended period when the world was not at a crossroad. As long as an undefined, yet unmistakable, hierarchy of nations with competing ideologies and national interests and objectives exists, surely, a few years later, it will stare at another crossroad on some issue or the other. Ten chapters make up the volume, and they are heavily laden with conceptual explanations and analyses. Jahan sets the correct, if obvious, tone in the first chapter by stressing on the necessity "to concentrate both on the MDG outcomes as well as the process when the issue of human dignity is put under the microscope." He then links the issues of human development and human rights on the basis that they have the goal of human freedom as a common denominator. Prior to making this particular connection, the author identifies three ways by which the concept of human development is linked to the MDGs. However, he ends the chapter with an enigmatic statement that requires a qualifier: "The conflicts in today's world are no more between states as they (are) among people." A cursory glance at almost all daily news will testify to how states are directly, or through proxies, engaged in protracted conflicts that, then, might, and do, induce internecine conflicts among people of the same country. Furthermore, the statement that "(d)isease, pollution, drug and human trafficking, ethnic conflicts, and terrorism are no longer isolated events, confined within national borders" is at least partly indiscriminate. By definition, several of these factors could never be confined to national borders, and nor have they been! Chapter 2 ("Democratic Governance for the Millennium Development Goals: An Analytical Framework") is heavily laced with the often-used rigmarole of how democratic governance has to be a critical factor for achieving MDGs. As the author states, "since achievement of the MDGs requires good economic governance in terms of a conducive policy framework and sufficient resources and a good political governance in terms of an enabling institutional environment, the MDGs and democratic governance are crucially linked." Fine, theoretically, although the author ponders a little too much on this obvious point. Shibboleths fly hard and fast, which will elicit vigorously nodding heads, but, at least with regard to Bangladesh, they miss one crucial point: who will bell the cat of dysfunctional political culture and elusive spirit of democratic governance? This is the most critical factor that has been holding back Bangladesh from achieving much more than it already has. The worrying point is that the nation as a whole seems to be marching towards a funk of political dysfunction. In fact, in one of his many prescriptive suggestions, the author alludes to this fundamental problem: "In order to effectively contribute to generating good governance, civil society requires knowledge and training on different public matters. Many NGOs in the developing world require training on public policy design, implementation and monitoring. A lot of them do not know how state institutions, like the Parliament, work." And, in the context of a different group, "…the private sector should respect the rule of law and be held accountable to the state and society. As a duty-holder, it has to live up to its social responsibilities as well." The book is replete with a vast range of things to-do. Theoretically sound in most cases, in practice not all may be realistically expected to be working efficiently in application within the constraints of the norms, traditions and character traits of the people of any given society. The prescriptive needs will not be universal; they will of necessity have to be adjusted to the societies they will be applied in. The author, to his credit, takes due cognizance of such diversity among countries, but it would be difficult to escape the conclusion that he is preachy in his prescriptive measures, and is general enough to be able to act as an all-encompassing umbrella that takes in all societies under its expanse, irrespective of their specific divergences from each other. In fact, in the biggest chapter (5 --- "Accelerating MDG Progress --- Evidence from Colombia, Lao PDR, Togo and Uganda"), Jahan brings out the uneven performances of the four countries studies in their efforts to meet MDGs by 2015. He takes notice of the phenomenon in Chapter 6 ("Accelerating MDG Progress: Success Stories and the Factors Behind"): "…progress has been uneven across and between countries, among regions, along race, ethnicity and gender lines." However, in explaining the factors behind the uneven progress, he leans towards offering a general panacea that fits all the countries. Nonetheless, there are a good number of astute observations and sensible suggestions. Although a conceptual generalization, these lines have a solid air of truth about them: "…the rule of law encompasses rules and norms that are constitutionally upheld and rooted in the social and political practices in a country…. In turn, the interactions between individuals and groups in society must reflect these principles. Although the primary guarantor of human rights is the state, rights-based rules of engagement cannot be realized without the commitment of society to these norms and rules as well." In Chapter 4 ("Accelerating MDG Achievements: Identifying Solutions to Constraints"), the author discusses the MDG Acceleration Framework (MAF), developed by UNDP, which aims at identifying bottlenecks and corresponding high impact solutions towards stimulating laggard MDG performers. His conclusion: "An acceleration solution may not always exist, as complex political, social, economic and environmental issues that hamper progress may require time to resolve." But he is not pessimistic about the plan: "…if a solution exists, the MAF provides an orderly way of identifying it, and operationalizing its implementation." Jahan has mixed feelings about MDGs. He is cognizant of their putative benefits as this example from Chapter 9 ("Development Dialogues Beyond 2015: Rationale and Issues for Setting a Set of Global Development Goals") will attest: "…since the MDGs are anchored in the human development and human rights paradigm, it has reaffirmed the critical importance of human well-being and human dignity." But he is also aware of their shortcomings: "…it goes without saying that MDGs have their limitations and from time to time, they have been criticized on several grounds." And proceeds to list seven of them. Chapter 10 ("Post-2015 Development Agenda: A Proposed Comprehensive Framework") attempts to justify the "Beyond" part of the book's sub-title. He first assesses the success of the MDGs: "The MDGs have acted as a relatively simple mobilization tool at the global level, and have arguably been useful in garnering support for actions that promote international development." In the post-2015 scenario, the author sees merit in continuing MDGs, but with necessary changes to their framework and operation. One suggestion: "Rather than a framework focused narrowly on development objectives in developing countries, it could focus on the main development-related challenges facing all countries, albeit to varying degrees depending on their circumstances." Rather similar to this offering, there are a few others, all just about equally broad and all-encompassing. He also assesses the MDGs and poses a pertinent question that seems to override his own suggestions for post-2015: "In sum, the MDGs increasingly look like a simplistic and inadequate framework, not reflecting the challenges facing the planet and its people, including those that are poor in both the South and North. Can a new development framework for the post-2015 era do any better, and is there an appetite to create it?" Overcoming Human Poverty: Essays on the Millennium Development Goals and Beyond reads like a very good textbook for university undergraduates. Prof. Shahid Alam is an actor, former diplomat and educationist
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