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Progress in human security in the Philippines is influenced by the 'ASEAN Way', which underscores consensual approach to decision-making, informal tructures and processes, and the principle of non-interference in member-countries' internal affairs. Along these lines, ASEAN broadened the agenda of security to encompass problems like poverty, epidemics, food security, human rights, and climate change, but failed to deepen security from a focus on the state to a focus on human individuals and communities. Yet the 'ASEAN Way' offers enough tolerance for 'operationalising' possibilities for normative non-state securitisation. Philippine NGOs have intervened in the decision-making process, shaped and disseminated politically relevant values and norms, and have taken the initiative to set rules themselves. For the Philippine government labouring under 'soft state' conditions, the most appropriate role based on a human security agenda would be to strengthen existing institutional structures, expand the democratic space for non-state actors, and join inter-state regimes and quasi-diplomatic arrangements, thereby reducing transaction costs and facilitating reciprocity within ASEAN. ; Der "ASEAN Way", der konsensuelle Entscheidungsprozesse, informelle Strukturen und Prozesse sowie das Prinzip der Nichteinmischung in die inneren Angelegenheiten der Mitgliedstaaten betont, hat direkte Auswirkungen auf die Weiterentwicklung menschlicher Sicherheit auf den Philippinen. Innerhalb dieses Rahmens erweiterte ASEAN die sicherheitspolitische Agenda um Probleme wie Armut, Epidemien, Nahrungsmittelsicherheit, Menschenrechte und Klimawandel. Es erfolgte jedoch keine Vertiefung des Sicherheitsbegriffs durch einen Fokuswechsel vom Staat hin zu Individuen und Gruppen – und das obwohl der "ASEAN Way" ausreichend Operationalisierungsspielraum für normative nicht-staatliche Sekuritisierung böte. Philippinische NGOs beteiligen sich an politischen Entscheidungsprozessen, beeinflussen und vermitteln eigene politisch relevante Werte und Normen, und stellen sogar eigene Regeln auf. Für die im Kontext eines "weichen" staatlichen Rahmens agierende philippinische Regierung wären daher die am meisten angemessenen Aufgaben bei der Verwirklichung der Agenda menschlicher Sicherheit die Stärkung der vorhandenen internationalen Strukturen, die Erweiterung des demokratischen Spielraums für nicht-staatliche Akteure sowie der Beitritt zu zwischenstaatlichen Regime und quasi-diplomatischen Arrangements. Damit könnten Transaktionskosten gesenkt und die Reziprozität innerhalb ASEANs gefördert werden.

"Der 'ASEAN Way', der konsensuelle Entscheidungsprozesse, informelle Strukturen und Prozesse sowie das Prinzip der Nichteinmischung in die inneren Angelegenheiten der Mitgliedstaaten betont, hat direkte Auswirkungen auf die Weiterentwicklung menschlicher Sicherheit auf den Philippinen. Innerhalb dieses Rahmens erweiterte ASEAN die sicherheitspolitische Agenda um Probleme wie Armut, Epidemien, Nahrungsmittelsicherheit, Menschenrechte und Klimawandel. Es erfolgte jedoch keine Vertiefung des Sicherheitsbegriffs durch einen Fokuswechsel vom Staat hin zu Individuen und Gruppen - und das obwohl der 'ASEAN Way' ausreichend Operationalisierungsspielraum für normative nicht-staatliche Sekuritisierung böte. Philippinische NGOs beteiligen sich an politischen Entscheidungsprozessen, beeinflussen und vermitteln eigene politisch relevante Werte und Normen, und stellen sogar eigene Regeln auf. Für die im Kontext eines 'weichen' staatlichen Rahmens agierende philippinische Regierung wären daher die am meisten angemessenen Aufgaben bei der Verwirklichung der Agenda menschlicher Sicherheit die Stärkung der vorhandenen internationalen Strukturen, die Erweiterung des demokratischen Spielraums für nicht-staatliche Akteure sowie der Beitritt zu zwischenstaatlichen Regime und quasi-diplomatischen Arrangements. Damit könnten Transaktionskosten gesenkt und die Reziprozität innerhalb ASEANs gefördert werden." (Autorenreferat)

The promise and potential of the Philippine economy has remained unrealized notwithstanding the country's talented labor force, skilled professionals, and relatively abundant resources. What ails the Philippines? This paper argues that the incompetence and downright corruption of Philippine institutions have much to do with the country's dismal performance in economic growth and poverty reduction. It draws attention to the significance of effective institutional and regulatory frameworks in orchestrating the policy development process and the need to create competent institutions to nudge such process in the direction of implementing better policies, examines strategic triggers for reform while the final section explores institutions and strategies to support the policy development process.

This paper attempts to analyze governance systems in Southeast Asia and proposes some policy suggestions that can improve governance practices in the region. It also discusses the links between governance and official development assistance and the role of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. To put the discussion on governance systems in a proper context, the paper discusses the governance and growth nexus in Southeast Asia; describes the operating governance systems in Southeast Asia; analyzes economic governance, more specifically in the areas of economic management and growth, revenue generation, social spending, access to services, cost of doing business, and corporate governance; and examines political governance, focusing on the rule of law and judicial independence, conflict management, and voice participation. Regardless of level of development, Southeast Asian countries need to establish and strengthen their transparency and accountability structures, both in the public and private sectors, in order to continue the momentum for broad-based growth. It is also necessary to strengthen the fiscal autonomy of their sub-national units, and provide more room for participation by civil society groups. More responsive and simplified regulatory structures are needed, and so are strong law enforcement mechanisms. The rise of ethnic tensions argues for better peace-building institutions to narrow the gap between groups. In all these, the ultimate challenge lies in seeking allies and building constituencies for reform. To make ODA better managed and more effective, donors must work in partnership (that is, have a common basket) rather than in competition. Donors can also enhance the value of aid by increasingly providing ideas and not just goods, untying aid and allowing recipient countries to take "ownership" and greater flexibility in the use of aid. For Japanese development assistance, in particular, Japanese aid agencies must adopt a strategic approach to assisting poverty reduction in the poorer countries of Southeast Asia, while extending their concessional window to middle-income countries. Japan can do well in providing "ideas aid" based on the Japanese experience. Japanese ODA can have higher leverage if an increasing part of the aid is used for institution building and reforms in governance.

"The book brings together implementation studies from the Asia Pacific countries in the context of the deadline of 2015 for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The contributors to this volume are scholars belonging to the Network of Asia Pacific Schools and Institutes of Public Administration and Governance (NAPSIPAG). NAPSIPAG is the only non-West governance research network presently located at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi after having shifted from its original location at INTAN (Government of Malaysia) at Kuala Lumpur in 2009. 'Implementation' is a less understood but a much debated area of governance research. It requires micro-level analysis of government agencies, service delivery departments and stakeholders on one hand and its national and global policy level connections on the other. The implementation studies relate to the new initiatives which governments across the region have undertaken to reach out to the MDG targets agreed upon in 2000. The focus of analysis is the policy framework, local capacities of both the government agencies and people in drawing partnerships with relevant expert groups. The book is especially important in the background of 15 voluminous Administrative Reforms Commission Reports accumulating dust in India and similar efforts lying unattended in many other countries of this region as well. Countries like Malaysia, which has focused upon 'implementation strategies' combined with timely evaluation and supervision of administrative agencies has almost achieved most of their committed MDGs. A special report of Malaysian efforts, initiates the debate of moving beyond the 'best practice research' in implementation arena. The central idea of this book is to demonstrate the role of communities in making governance effective and government responsive to the needs of people"--Publisher's website

Governance is a complex concept. It includes the state's institutions and structures, its decision-making process, its capacity to implement guidelines and the relationship between government officials and the public. Hence, this study attempts to develop a composite index of the quality of governance at the local government level. It also defines limited indicators, which can be measured consistently and can capture the substance of each dimension and their compatibility over time and space. The governance quality index constructed here is focused on three principal elements: capacity of the LGU to mobilize and utilize resources, efficiency and effectiveness of the LGU in the delivery of social services and presence of mechanism to ensure accountability.

Hemorrhage is the most preventable cause of death in civilian and military trauma and, despite tremendous advances in patient transport in the field, survival within the first hour has changed little over the past 40 years. The pathogenesis of trauma-induced coagulopathy (TIC) is multifactorial, but most authorities believe there is an early depletion of clotting factors. While fresh frozen plasma delivered early in the emergency department has been shown to be beneficial, the rapid onset of TIC suggests advancing this concept to the scene may improve patient outcome. The purpose of this report is to describe the rationale and design of a randomized trial to test the hypothesis that prehospital "plasma-first" resuscitation will benefit the critically injured patient. The rationale includes the possibility that plasma-first resuscitation may be advantageous beyond direct effects on clotting capacity. The study design is based on a ground ambulance system that allows rapid prehospital thawing of frozen plasma.

The existing evidence shows great promise for plasma as the first resuscitation fluid in both civilian and military trauma. We embarked on the Control of Major Bleeding After Trauma (COMBAT) trial with the support of the Department of Defense, in order to determine if plasma-first resuscitation yields hemostatic and survival benefits. The methodology of the COMBAT study represents not only three years of development work, but the integration of nearly two-decades of technical experience with the design and implementation of other clinical trials and studies. Herein, we describe the key features of the study design, critical personnel and infrastructural elements, and key innovations. We will also briefly outline the systems engineering challenges entailed by this study. COMBAT is a randomized, placebo controlled, semi-blinded prospective Phase IIB clinical trial, conducted in a ground ambulance fleet based at a Level I trauma center, and part of a multicenter collaboration. The primary objective of COMBAT is to determine the efficacy of field resuscitation with plasma first, compared to standard of care (normal saline). To date we have enrolled 30 subjects in the COMBAT study. The ability to achieve intervention with a hemostatic resuscitation agent in the closest possible temporal proximity to injury is critical and represents an opportunity to forestall the evolution of the "bloody vicious cycle". Thus, the COMBAT model for deploying plasma in first response units should serve as a model for RCTs of other hemostatic resuscitative agents.