Building Democracy and International Governance

George M. Guess is Adjunct Professor in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, USA.

• Preface. 1. Introduction: The Need for Effective Government 2. Challenges to Effective Government: Ethnic-Nationalism, Populist Nationalism and Weak State Institutions 3. Wealthier State Populist Nationalism 4. Macroeconomic Instability 5. Inability of Both Wealthy and Poor Countries to Reduce Regional Inequalities 6. Governing Structures 7. Response to Governance Challenges: The Problem of Aid Design and Implementation 8. Aid as Stimulus for Democracy and Governmental Effectiveness 9. Targeting Aid to Threats Against Improved Governmental Effectiveness 10. Specific Problems with Design and Implementation of Aid 11. Summary and Conclusions Appendix 1. Managing Development Projects in High Risk Environments: The Case of Pakistan [George M. Guess and Dennis DeSantis]

"Building Democracy and International Governance by George Guess comes at an especially opportune time for advancing understanding about how democratic governance initiatives might be more effectively promoted around the world. Guess pours his treasure trove of knowledge about what it takes to establish and sustain effective government into the 230+ pages of this book. His expansive knowledge base has been built from his lifetime of scholarly attention to public budgeting, finance and management and given his extensive consulting and leadership on assistance projects to governments globally... Guess exposes the truly chaotic, complex and circular nature of state-building (or destroying), the many contraindications that can surface from aid intervention, and the possibilities for balancing government needs with donor needs when engaged in promoting democratic governance." -- Katherine Willoughby, University of Georgia, USA "A compelling approach to how foreign aid should be refocused to support good governance in the league of the highest traditions of social science… Development practitioners will greatly benefit from these insights and see paths for overcoming the formidable challenges of development." – Stephen B. Peterson, University of Melbourne, Australia