Interview

The abrupt closure of the WTO Summit in Cancún in September 2003 without any formal agreement dealt a powerful blow to what had been designated as the ‘development round’ in Doha in 2001—and with it to the promise that the concerns of most interest to developing countries would for the first time take precedence in international trade discussions. In this interview, Adrian Lovett, Campaigns and Communications Director of Oxfam GB, talks about the collapse of the summit and about what the future of international trade negotiations may hold.

Since the early 1990s, the international community has become increasingly involved in efforts to (re-)build states that have been torn by war and violent conflict. Today, the United Nations alone is engaged in more than ten political and peace-building missions around the world. Roland Paris's most recent work, At War's End: Building Peace after Civil Conflict (2004) examines 14 of the major UN peace-building missions launched between 1989 and 1999.

In this interview, Rosemary Thorp, an expert on the political economy of Latin America and currently Oxfam GB Chair of Trustees, discusses the impact that decentralisation reforms have had in promoting development and deepening democratic governance in the region. Focusing in particular in the experiences of Chile and Colombia, Thorp argues that, while the process of democratic decentralisation is promising, it needs to overcome multiple challenges if it is to live up to its full potential.