As a member of the team, I had the pleasure of visiting Laos, Lebanon and Palestine. In all three countries, the poverty debate has little to do with poverty lines and who are above or below. In Laos, the debate invokes the issue of ethnic minorities and how to integrate them in the mainstream Laotian society. In Lebanon, it is about the regional disparities and sectarian divisions that fuelled years of civil war. In Palestine, the focus on domestic inequalities challenges the political rhetoric of one people sharing the same deprivations and aspirations, and claims for nationhood.
Donors can play a constructive role insofar as they can build on to national political processes .
This requires insights as well as legitimacy. We know from the past history of political conditionalities attached to aid, that their effect is limited. Big money can turn policies in weak countries, as long as we are dealing with simple decisions that can be executed by a small group of government executives, but will not turn national political processes around, which is necessary with comprehensive reforms. Parliamentarians have an important role to play, but in many countries raising the concern over economic inequalities, alone, is not what attract voters. Governments are not monolithic entities .