Articles by Jeffrey Hallock
Development Policy Review, 2024
Motivation: “Localization”—direct donor support for national organizations
in aid recipient count... more Motivation: “Localization”—direct donor support for national organizations
in aid recipient countries—has become a top priority for international
development. The United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) pledged to raise the proportion of direct funding
to national organizations to 25% and for 50% of funding to involve
“locally led” input. Independently, USAID commits to proactive disclosure
of project information. This study analyses sectoral priorities,
access to project data, and localization trends to inform policy discussion
about how USAID can reach its twin localization goals, with a
focus on Colombia, the largest US aid recipient in Latin America.
Purpose: An open government perspective can shed light on whether
and how development agencies are making progress towards localization.
Moreover, user-centred information disclosure by donors is necessary to
inform locally led development. The goals of this study are to document
USAID's sectoral funding priorities, gaps in data disclosure, implementation
actions, and direct local funding percentages to make patterns more
visible to stakeholders. We ask: What are the strengths and limitations of
public disclosure of data concerning US aid in Colombia?
Approach and methods: This analysis uses open-source data review
methods to bring together different sources of publicly available data.
These methods include triangulating government data disbursed
across multiple sites, recoding government data to make trends visible,
and identifying barriers to data access.
Findings: Public data indicate that US funding for peace-related
projects increased in the years following Colombia's 2016 Peace Accord, though the security share of total US aid remains high. Funding trends demonstrate that USAID is far behind its localization goals in Colombia, though absolute funding totals to local organizations are increasing. Finally,
publicly available project data are not user-centred, require technical acumen to access, and are fragmented across multiple sites.
Policy implications: User-centred disclosures are key to locally led
development to ensure informed participation and accountability to
stakeholders.
Democratization, 2021
States have adopted a range of policies to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Some, mainly democracie... more States have adopted a range of policies to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Some, mainly democracies like New Zealand and South Korea, took quick health measures without curbing citizen rights. Others, especially those led by populists like Bolsonaro and Erdogan, denied the seriousness of the health crisis even as they curbed political and civil rights. El Salvador is virtually unique in its COVID-19 response, combining a strong rhetorical commitment to health measures with clear efforts to undermine democratic controls and rights. President Nayib Bukele adopted an early travel ban and publicly vilified those who broke curfew by sending them and all who tested positive to quarantine centers for 30 days. He derided and defied Constitutional Chamber decisions against such practices, ordered militarized actions, and crowded gang-affiliated prisoners together in humiliating ways that risked exposure to COVID-19. We examine how Bukele’s policies conform to, and seemingly exemplify, Michel Foucault’s theoretical concepts of biopolitics and disciplinary power. However, the Salvadoran case also challenges key features of Foucault’s theory, suggesting the need to modify his Western assumptions about highly institutionalized states. Our analysis suggests that strong leaders can undercut citizen rights and agency, visible at the intersection of biopolitical social theory and democratic backsliding.
Book Chapters by Jeffrey Hallock
The Politics of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Latin America, 2022
Papers by Jeffrey Hallock
There was an unprecedented global wave of more than 12,500 protests about food, energy and the ri... more There was an unprecedented global wave of more than 12,500 protests about food, energy and the rising cost of living in 2022. Most protests were triggered not by generalised price rises or shortages, but by specific governmental failures to act to protect citizens against their effects. This analysis shows that cost of living protests unite people across societies on grievances that are deeply and widely shared.
Center for Latin American and Latino Studies (CLALS), 2020
Center for Latin American and Latino Studies (CLALS), 2020
Global Anticorruption Blog, 2024
World Politics Review, 2022
Migration Information Source, 2021
Migration Information Source, 2018
Migration Information Source, 2017
Working Papers by Jeffrey Hallock
COMPAS, 2018
This paper follows the work of Rogers Brubaker (2005) to argue that definitional clarity of the t... more This paper follows the work of Rogers Brubaker (2005) to argue that definitional clarity of the term diaspora allows for a process-oriented analysis of diaspora engagement. Diaspora formation is not a natural consequence of displacement, but rather it is a political process predicated on a desire to remake the homeland. This paper argues that it is important to recognize that framing diaspora from both external (etic) and internal (emic) perspectives can influence and legitimize political mobilization. This calls for an understanding of 'diaspora as practice', a theory which postulates that we must evaluate claims, actions, and practices to have a realistic appraisal of how different migrant groups will affect political processes. This will help evaluate if a particular group is being framed by outside actors to help pass externally driven initiatives, or if the group can act as an independent 'third level' mediator that blends external knowledge of international peace-building norms with local customs to foster stability. Diaspora as practice can be used to evaluate individual cases of displacement to differentiate competing interests found in peace-and state-building processes.
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Articles by Jeffrey Hallock
in aid recipient countries—has become a top priority for international
development. The United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) pledged to raise the proportion of direct funding
to national organizations to 25% and for 50% of funding to involve
“locally led” input. Independently, USAID commits to proactive disclosure
of project information. This study analyses sectoral priorities,
access to project data, and localization trends to inform policy discussion
about how USAID can reach its twin localization goals, with a
focus on Colombia, the largest US aid recipient in Latin America.
Purpose: An open government perspective can shed light on whether
and how development agencies are making progress towards localization.
Moreover, user-centred information disclosure by donors is necessary to
inform locally led development. The goals of this study are to document
USAID's sectoral funding priorities, gaps in data disclosure, implementation
actions, and direct local funding percentages to make patterns more
visible to stakeholders. We ask: What are the strengths and limitations of
public disclosure of data concerning US aid in Colombia?
Approach and methods: This analysis uses open-source data review
methods to bring together different sources of publicly available data.
These methods include triangulating government data disbursed
across multiple sites, recoding government data to make trends visible,
and identifying barriers to data access.
Findings: Public data indicate that US funding for peace-related
projects increased in the years following Colombia's 2016 Peace Accord, though the security share of total US aid remains high. Funding trends demonstrate that USAID is far behind its localization goals in Colombia, though absolute funding totals to local organizations are increasing. Finally,
publicly available project data are not user-centred, require technical acumen to access, and are fragmented across multiple sites.
Policy implications: User-centred disclosures are key to locally led
development to ensure informed participation and accountability to
stakeholders.
Book Chapters by Jeffrey Hallock
Papers by Jeffrey Hallock
Commentaries & Blogs by Jeffrey Hallock
Working Papers by Jeffrey Hallock
in aid recipient countries—has become a top priority for international
development. The United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) pledged to raise the proportion of direct funding
to national organizations to 25% and for 50% of funding to involve
“locally led” input. Independently, USAID commits to proactive disclosure
of project information. This study analyses sectoral priorities,
access to project data, and localization trends to inform policy discussion
about how USAID can reach its twin localization goals, with a
focus on Colombia, the largest US aid recipient in Latin America.
Purpose: An open government perspective can shed light on whether
and how development agencies are making progress towards localization.
Moreover, user-centred information disclosure by donors is necessary to
inform locally led development. The goals of this study are to document
USAID's sectoral funding priorities, gaps in data disclosure, implementation
actions, and direct local funding percentages to make patterns more
visible to stakeholders. We ask: What are the strengths and limitations of
public disclosure of data concerning US aid in Colombia?
Approach and methods: This analysis uses open-source data review
methods to bring together different sources of publicly available data.
These methods include triangulating government data disbursed
across multiple sites, recoding government data to make trends visible,
and identifying barriers to data access.
Findings: Public data indicate that US funding for peace-related
projects increased in the years following Colombia's 2016 Peace Accord, though the security share of total US aid remains high. Funding trends demonstrate that USAID is far behind its localization goals in Colombia, though absolute funding totals to local organizations are increasing. Finally,
publicly available project data are not user-centred, require technical acumen to access, and are fragmented across multiple sites.
Policy implications: User-centred disclosures are key to locally led
development to ensure informed participation and accountability to
stakeholders.