The Role of the State in Development:The Case of Fragile States

More than one billion people live in fragile states. These countries face great development challenges, and progress remains elusive. Poverty rates are higher than in other low-income countries and states are unable to deliver basic services to their citizens. Internationally, many attempts have been made to 'fix' fragile states, but most of these efforts were unsuccessful. Should development actors continue to assist fragile states in order to promote development for their citizens or must we learn to live with them? Should we continue to send more aid, or rather supporting them in building strong institutions? SID welcomes you to engage in a lively debate with development experts from a variety of sectors.

Panellists:

Ruud Treffers is Executive Director at the World Bank. Before joining the World Bank, he was Director-General International Cooperation at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also served as Dutch Ambassador to various posts including Kenya and Indonesia.

Seth Kaplan is senior fellow at New York University and managing partner of Alpha International Consulting, which helps corporations tailor their strategies and operations to fit the challenging conditions found in developing countries. He is also a foreign policy analyst and the author of Fixing Fragile States: A New Paradigm for Development (2008).

René Grotenhuis is president of SID NL and Chief Executive Officer of the Catholic development organisation Cordaid. He has acquired a wealth of knowledge and experience in development, initially as a policy officer and later as a member of the executive boards of several Dutch development organisations. He has become one of the key voices in development discussions in the Netherlands.

Logistical details: Date: Thursday 15 December 2011/ Location: Aurora Room, VU University, Amsterdam/ Time: 11:00-13:00 (simple lunch provided) / Language: English / Admission is free, but registration is required through registration@sidnl.org/ Website: http://www.sid-nl.org