Publication Archive

Singapore has undergone a remarkable transition since gaining statehood. ISE examines the sequence of priorities and drivers fueling its economic growth from a post-colonial city into a center of industry and trade.

Mozambique is now one of Africa’s fastest growing economies. What were the key steps in its path from Civil War, through one party state system and centrally planned socialist economy, to multiparty constitutional democracy? How…

The story of how Spain transitioned from a military dictatorship to a situational monarchy with a Parliamentary democracy is widely known. This paper scrutinizes the deeper process: how Spain developed its national institutions to build…

Confronted by set of deeply entrenched obstacles, the government of Bihar adopted a carefully structured approach to state-building. In this paper we assess the measures it took to consolidate the rule of law, build key…

Consensus is emerging on the centrality of state-building to development. At an operational level, however, the differing mandates and priorities of different donors are resulting in fragmented approaches – increasing the strain on already fragile…

Current approaches in the Guinea-Bissau reached an impasse as the government struggled to balance competing urgent needs, the population’s desire for tangible change, and longer term institutional reform. This paper suggests a new approach whose…

This paper considers how to resolve Nepalese political stalemate. It argues that progress on constitution-making requires agreement on core constitutional principles to underpin it. It then sets out recommendations to catalyze positive change, overcoming narrow…

This paper considers how, at an ‘open moment’ in its history, Nepal might meet the challenge of moving from slogan to implementation. It suggests national programs have a role to play in facilitating this process…

A state-building strategy must be precisely tailored to its context and the aspirations of the citizens in order to provide the ownership and momentum necessary to expand an open moment into a process of institution…

This paper explains how unstable dual power sharing defined Nepal’s predicament in May 2006. It explains why resulting structural uncertainty affects stakeholders and threatens further development – or even risks collapse. The paper then explains…

This paper describes the challenges facing Kosovo at a pivotal moment in its history, and explains why its institutions were short of capacity, legitimacy and trust. On the basis that EU accession was the country’s…

The gap in many states between de jure sovereignty and de facto sovereignty is the key obstacle to ensuring global security and prosperity. This paper seeks to define a quantitative index for sovereignty and propose…