Diplomacy & Defense Think Tank News

Social protection has gained increasing attention in global climate policy due to its potential to contribute to low-carbon, just and climate-resilient development. Unlocking climate finance for social protection is critical to realize this potential. Multilateral climate funds established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) can play a particularly important role by financing social sectors where private investments are not attractive. Yet, there is a distinct policy and research gap in understanding the potential and limitations of the UNFCCC financial mechanisms to support social protection in low- and middle-income countries. Taking as a case study the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which is the largest multilateral fund under the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC, we seek to address this gap. First, the study introduces a framework for analysis of the ways climate finance engages with social protection by looking into a comprehensive set of formal social services and transfers provided by the state to individuals, households, and on a collective basis. Second, the study identifies a continuum of entry points for integrating social protection into the GCF’s project portfolio and offers a holistic perspective by capturing climate change mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage. We find that social protection can be instrumental in the design and implementation of GCF projects. In addition, our analysis reveals that the GCF has the potential to support projects that create enabling conditions for integrating climate change considerations into national social protection systems, and that aim at piloting or establishing long-term social protection mechanisms with climate change objectives.

Social protection has gained increasing attention in global climate policy due to its potential to contribute to low-carbon, just and climate-resilient development. Unlocking climate finance for social protection is critical to realize this potential. Multilateral climate funds established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) can play a particularly important role by financing social sectors where private investments are not attractive. Yet, there is a distinct policy and research gap in understanding the potential and limitations of the UNFCCC financial mechanisms to support social protection in low- and middle-income countries. Taking as a case study the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which is the largest multilateral fund under the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC, we seek to address this gap. First, the study introduces a framework for analysis of the ways climate finance engages with social protection by looking into a comprehensive set of formal social services and transfers provided by the state to individuals, households, and on a collective basis. Second, the study identifies a continuum of entry points for integrating social protection into the GCF’s project portfolio and offers a holistic perspective by capturing climate change mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage. We find that social protection can be instrumental in the design and implementation of GCF projects. In addition, our analysis reveals that the GCF has the potential to support projects that create enabling conditions for integrating climate change considerations into national social protection systems, and that aim at piloting or establishing long-term social protection mechanisms with climate change objectives.

Die am DIW Berlin angesiedelte forschungsbasierte Infrastruktureinrichtung Sozio-oekonomisches

Panel (SOEP) sucht zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt eine

studentische Hilfskraft (w/m/div)

für 15 Wochenstunden.

Since the Security Council first recognized conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) as a threat to international peace and security in 2008, the UN has developed an increasing number of pathways to prevent and respond to such crimes. One of these is the annual report of the secretary-general on CRSV, which includes an annexed list of perpetrators who are credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of CRSV violations in contexts on the agenda of the Security Council. In addition, perpetrators of CRSV may also be designated in UN sanctions regimes. Yet while both of these processes aim to prevent and respond to CRSV, they are not always coherent with one another.

This paper analyzes the relationship between the annual reports of the secretary-general on CRSV and sanctions designations to provide recommendations to enhance their complementarity. It provides an overview of the CRSV annual report and the process for listing parties. It then focuses on designations in sanctions regimes for crimes related to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), including the level of coherence between the reporting of the secretary-general and designations in sanctions regimes. Next, the paper analyzes the reporting and political barriers that inhibit more regular designations for SGBV in sanctions regimes. Finally, it provides recommendations to the UN and member states on how to improve the coherence, coordination, and effectiveness of these processes, including the following.

For member states:

• Explicitly list SGBV as a criterion within all sanctions regimes for contexts where sexual violence may be taking place.
• Prioritize utilizing existing SGBV-related criteria as appropriate with available evidence.
• Provide additional resources for panels of experts.
• Increase coherence between the parties listed in the annual reports on CRSV and the individuals and entities designated in sanctions regimes.
• Organize an annual field visit for sanctions committees to the context in question.
• Create a standing capacity within the UN to engage with designated parties, with the aim of encouraging compliance and facilitating de-listing.

For the UN Secretariat and panels of experts:

• Establish a platform for regularly coordinating and sharing information between the office of the special representative of the secretary-general on sexual violence in conflict and panels of experts.
• Institute more structured handover processes between incoming and outgoing members of panels of experts.
• Provide more robust training on SGBV for panels of experts.
• Strengthen CRSV expertise and capacity within the Security Council Affairs Division.

Die am DIW Berlin angesiedelte forschungsbasierte Infrastruktureinrichtung Sozio-oekonomisches Panel (SOEP) sucht zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt eine

studentische Hilfskraft (w/m/div)

für 19 Wochenstunden.

Die Abteilung Klimapolitik des Deutschen Instituts für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin) sucht zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt

eine studentische Hilfskraft (m/w/div)

für 8 Wochenstunden.

The urban lab is an experimental governance approach for the co-creation of innovative solutions to urban challenges, such as climate change. However, urban lab scholarship has overlooked lab formation as a distinct process and is almost exclusively based on European cases. Therefore, little is known about the role of context conditions for lab formation in general and beyond Europe in particular. To address these gaps, this paper inductively analyses urban lab formation in five cities in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, develops a framework for the comparative analysis of lab formation challenges, and asks: What do the challenges encountered and the solutions developed during lab formation in these cities tell us about the context dependence of the urban lab approach and what are the implications for its potential beyond Europe? Comparing insights from Europe to the findings from Latin America, the paper answers these questions and identifies future research questions.

The urban lab is an experimental governance approach for the co-creation of innovative solutions to urban challenges, such as climate change. However, urban lab scholarship has overlooked lab formation as a distinct process and is almost exclusively based on European cases. Therefore, little is known about the role of context conditions for lab formation in general and beyond Europe in particular. To address these gaps, this paper inductively analyses urban lab formation in five cities in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, develops a framework for the comparative analysis of lab formation challenges, and asks: What do the challenges encountered and the solutions developed during lab formation in these cities tell us about the context dependence of the urban lab approach and what are the implications for its potential beyond Europe? Comparing insights from Europe to the findings from Latin America, the paper answers these questions and identifies future research questions.

The urban lab is an experimental governance approach for the co-creation of innovative solutions to urban challenges, such as climate change. However, urban lab scholarship has overlooked lab formation as a distinct process and is almost exclusively based on European cases. Therefore, little is known about the role of context conditions for lab formation in general and beyond Europe in particular. To address these gaps, this paper inductively analyses urban lab formation in five cities in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, develops a framework for the comparative analysis of lab formation challenges, and asks: What do the challenges encountered and the solutions developed during lab formation in these cities tell us about the context dependence of the urban lab approach and what are the implications for its potential beyond Europe? Comparing insights from Europe to the findings from Latin America, the paper answers these questions and identifies future research questions.

Global governance has a major impact on the lives of people around the world. However, traditional theories of legitimacy were usually developed for states and are not suitable for the diversity of global governance institutions that exist today. This book first develops a normative concept of legitimacy that is applicable to all political institutions. According to this concept, to regard an institution as legitimate means ascribing it the right to exercise its function in political practice. Secondly, the book discusses how the use of this concept opens up new perspectives in the debate on legitimacy criteria for global governance institutions. In this context, the book analyses the relationship of legitimacy to the values of justice and democracy and discusses the role of feasibility constraints and the all-affected principle in legitimacy judgements. The concept of legitimacy as the right to function opens up the conceptual space to accommodate the insight that legitimacy criteria are not the same for all global governance institutions, but depend on their function and context. Thirdly, the book applies the developed theoretical framework to a specific global governance institution, the G20.

Global governance has a major impact on the lives of people around the world. However, traditional theories of legitimacy were usually developed for states and are not suitable for the diversity of global governance institutions that exist today. This book first develops a normative concept of legitimacy that is applicable to all political institutions. According to this concept, to regard an institution as legitimate means ascribing it the right to exercise its function in political practice. Secondly, the book discusses how the use of this concept opens up new perspectives in the debate on legitimacy criteria for global governance institutions. In this context, the book analyses the relationship of legitimacy to the values of justice and democracy and discusses the role of feasibility constraints and the all-affected principle in legitimacy judgements. The concept of legitimacy as the right to function opens up the conceptual space to accommodate the insight that legitimacy criteria are not the same for all global governance institutions, but depend on their function and context. Thirdly, the book applies the developed theoretical framework to a specific global governance institution, the G20.

Global governance has a major impact on the lives of people around the world. However, traditional theories of legitimacy were usually developed for states and are not suitable for the diversity of global governance institutions that exist today. This book first develops a normative concept of legitimacy that is applicable to all political institutions. According to this concept, to regard an institution as legitimate means ascribing it the right to exercise its function in political practice. Secondly, the book discusses how the use of this concept opens up new perspectives in the debate on legitimacy criteria for global governance institutions. In this context, the book analyses the relationship of legitimacy to the values of justice and democracy and discusses the role of feasibility constraints and the all-affected principle in legitimacy judgements. The concept of legitimacy as the right to function opens up the conceptual space to accommodate the insight that legitimacy criteria are not the same for all global governance institutions, but depend on their function and context. Thirdly, the book applies the developed theoretical framework to a specific global governance institution, the G20.

African cities are growing rapidly - soon the majority of the African population will live in cities and not in rural areas. Municipal actors do not always have the capacities, the formal competencies and/or resources to provide adequate infrastructure and services for the growing populations. Here, decentralization policies are of crucial importance for urban governance, as they determine the institutional environment in which urban governance takes place. Decentralization aims at shifting competencies and resources from the central government to territorially defined subnational levels of government, including cities and municipalities. This process is inherently political and contested, as different actors negotiate their access to power and resources. Based on a literature review, the paper analyses the entanglement between decentralization and urban governance looking specifically at the political implications of how decentralization plays out at the municipal level. The first part of the paper takes stock of the current state of fiscal, administrative and political decentralization for cities and subnational governments in Africa and gives some context information concerning the origins of decentralization and its differing trajectories. Despite major advances in political decentralization, fiscal decentralization lags behind. The political motives for pursuing decentralization reforms often result in incomplete decentralization and have a profound effect on power sharing arrangements. The second part analyzes the effects decentralization policies have on urban governance. Decentralization profoundly alters power dynamics at the local level, which has an influence on party politics, leaders’ capacity to provide for infrastructure and services and the accountability relationship between citizens and the state. Looking at these three interrelated dimensions and how they are shaped by different city contexts reveals the inherently political character of urban governance. Overall, the paper finds that cities are affected differently by decentralization policies than rural areas. Cities’ economic and political salience, the presence of a multitude of actors with decision-making powers as well as the strong voices of opposition parties and civil society make decentralization especially prone to politicization. At the same time, these factors also contribute to cities’ strong position in shaping these policies and the politics of decentralization beyond the confines of the municipal level.

African cities are growing rapidly - soon the majority of the African population will live in cities and not in rural areas. Municipal actors do not always have the capacities, the formal competencies and/or resources to provide adequate infrastructure and services for the growing populations. Here, decentralization policies are of crucial importance for urban governance, as they determine the institutional environment in which urban governance takes place. Decentralization aims at shifting competencies and resources from the central government to territorially defined subnational levels of government, including cities and municipalities. This process is inherently political and contested, as different actors negotiate their access to power and resources. Based on a literature review, the paper analyses the entanglement between decentralization and urban governance looking specifically at the political implications of how decentralization plays out at the municipal level. The first part of the paper takes stock of the current state of fiscal, administrative and political decentralization for cities and subnational governments in Africa and gives some context information concerning the origins of decentralization and its differing trajectories. Despite major advances in political decentralization, fiscal decentralization lags behind. The political motives for pursuing decentralization reforms often result in incomplete decentralization and have a profound effect on power sharing arrangements. The second part analyzes the effects decentralization policies have on urban governance. Decentralization profoundly alters power dynamics at the local level, which has an influence on party politics, leaders’ capacity to provide for infrastructure and services and the accountability relationship between citizens and the state. Looking at these three interrelated dimensions and how they are shaped by different city contexts reveals the inherently political character of urban governance. Overall, the paper finds that cities are affected differently by decentralization policies than rural areas. Cities’ economic and political salience, the presence of a multitude of actors with decision-making powers as well as the strong voices of opposition parties and civil society make decentralization especially prone to politicization. At the same time, these factors also contribute to cities’ strong position in shaping these policies and the politics of decentralization beyond the confines of the municipal level.

African cities are growing rapidly - soon the majority of the African population will live in cities and not in rural areas. Municipal actors do not always have the capacities, the formal competencies and/or resources to provide adequate infrastructure and services for the growing populations. Here, decentralization policies are of crucial importance for urban governance, as they determine the institutional environment in which urban governance takes place. Decentralization aims at shifting competencies and resources from the central government to territorially defined subnational levels of government, including cities and municipalities. This process is inherently political and contested, as different actors negotiate their access to power and resources. Based on a literature review, the paper analyses the entanglement between decentralization and urban governance looking specifically at the political implications of how decentralization plays out at the municipal level. The first part of the paper takes stock of the current state of fiscal, administrative and political decentralization for cities and subnational governments in Africa and gives some context information concerning the origins of decentralization and its differing trajectories. Despite major advances in political decentralization, fiscal decentralization lags behind. The political motives for pursuing decentralization reforms often result in incomplete decentralization and have a profound effect on power sharing arrangements. The second part analyzes the effects decentralization policies have on urban governance. Decentralization profoundly alters power dynamics at the local level, which has an influence on party politics, leaders’ capacity to provide for infrastructure and services and the accountability relationship between citizens and the state. Looking at these three interrelated dimensions and how they are shaped by different city contexts reveals the inherently political character of urban governance. Overall, the paper finds that cities are affected differently by decentralization policies than rural areas. Cities’ economic and political salience, the presence of a multitude of actors with decision-making powers as well as the strong voices of opposition parties and civil society make decentralization especially prone to politicization. At the same time, these factors also contribute to cities’ strong position in shaping these policies and the politics of decentralization beyond the confines of the municipal level.

TUC Profiles is a series of short reports developed as part of the Transformative Urban Coalitions (TUC) project. They disseminate insights into the existing challenges and opportunities to address cross-cutting urban sustainability transformation and development issues through inclusive climate action in five cities in Latin America. The first edition, TUC City Profiles, presented each city and the contextual factors that may enable or hinder urban sustainability transformations. This second edition, TUC Urban Lab Profiles, showcases the progress achieved by project partners and members of the labs in each of these cities since 2021. Urban Labs (ULs) are the core approach of TUC. They consist of regular gatherings of a diverse range of stakeholders who collaborate and exchange knowledge to collectively co-create innovative solutions for complex urban challenges in a way that is participatory, cross-sectoral and inclusive. While UL approaches have gained global attention, there is still limited information on their implementation. These reports aim to fill a gap in practical knowledge about living labs. The series illustrates how ULs contribute to more climate-friendly and socially just communities and cities. The following short report was co-produced by UL members, local as well as international project staff and researchers. It provides a summary of the steps taken, challenges encountered and key achievements to date by the UL Naucalpan, established in Naucalpan, Mexico, with support of TUC. It concludes with lessons learned for catalysing transformative change towards sustainability.

TUC Profiles is a series of short reports developed as part of the Transformative Urban Coalitions (TUC) project. They disseminate insights into the existing challenges and opportunities to address cross-cutting urban sustainability transformation and development issues through inclusive climate action in five cities in Latin America. The first edition, TUC City Profiles, presented each city and the contextual factors that may enable or hinder urban sustainability transformations. This second edition, TUC Urban Lab Profiles, showcases the progress achieved by project partners and members of the labs in each of these cities since 2021. Urban Labs (ULs) are the core approach of TUC. They consist of regular gatherings of a diverse range of stakeholders who collaborate and exchange knowledge to collectively co-create innovative solutions for complex urban challenges in a way that is participatory, cross-sectoral and inclusive. While UL approaches have gained global attention, there is still limited information on their implementation. These reports aim to fill a gap in practical knowledge about living labs. The series illustrates how ULs contribute to more climate-friendly and socially just communities and cities. The following short report was co-produced by UL members, local as well as international project staff and researchers. It provides a summary of the steps taken, challenges encountered and key achievements to date by the UL Naucalpan, established in Naucalpan, Mexico, with support of TUC. It concludes with lessons learned for catalysing transformative change towards sustainability.

TUC Profiles is a series of short reports developed as part of the Transformative Urban Coalitions (TUC) project. They disseminate insights into the existing challenges and opportunities to address cross-cutting urban sustainability transformation and development issues through inclusive climate action in five cities in Latin America. The first edition, TUC City Profiles, presented each city and the contextual factors that may enable or hinder urban sustainability transformations. This second edition, TUC Urban Lab Profiles, showcases the progress achieved by project partners and members of the labs in each of these cities since 2021. Urban Labs (ULs) are the core approach of TUC. They consist of regular gatherings of a diverse range of stakeholders who collaborate and exchange knowledge to collectively co-create innovative solutions for complex urban challenges in a way that is participatory, cross-sectoral and inclusive. While UL approaches have gained global attention, there is still limited information on their implementation. These reports aim to fill a gap in practical knowledge about living labs. The series illustrates how ULs contribute to more climate-friendly and socially just communities and cities. The following short report was co-produced by UL members, local as well as international project staff and researchers. It provides a summary of the steps taken, challenges encountered and key achievements to date by the UL Naucalpan, established in Naucalpan, Mexico, with support of TUC. It concludes with lessons learned for catalysing transformative change towards sustainability.