What motivates people to transform dictatorships into democracies? Can democracies really check corruption? What role do international organizations play in establishing good governance? What is the relationship between the elements of governance and human development? These questions and others will be the focus of an international conference being held on campus Friday and Saturday, April 4 and 5.
Titled "Democracy and Development: The Role of Interntional Organizations," the conference is sponsored by United Nations Studies at Yale, the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, The Economic Growth Center and the United Nations Development Programme UNDP. All sessions will be held in the Luce Hall auditorium, 34 Hillhouse Ave. The event is free and open to the public, although seating is limited.
In addition to the United Nations and Yale, the other organizations that will be represented at the conference include the European Parliament, the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, the Centre for the Study of Global Governance, the Centre for Development Research, Parliamentarians for Global Change and the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.
James Gustave Speth, administrator of the UNDP, will present the inaugural address at 9 a.m. on Friday. This will be followed by three sessions: "Democracy and Good Governance: Cornerstones for Development" at 10:15 a.m., "Alternative Types of Democracy and Dynamic Processes" at 2 p.m. and "Transitions to Democracy: The Role of International Organizations" at 4:15 p.m.
Other featured speakers on Friday include Takashi Inoguchi, senior vice rector at United Nations University in Tokyo, who will speak at a luncheon at 12:30 p.m.; and Amartya Sen, professor of economics at Harvard University, who will present a talk at 7 p.m. (Professor Sen will also speak at an undergraduate economics seminar during his stay; see Visiting on Campus, page 4.)
The conference will conclude on Saturday with a session on "Consolidating New Democracies: Challenges for International Organizations," which begins at 9 a.m.