Thought Provokers
The Strategy of Denial
Elbridge Colby led the drafting of the 2018 National Defense Strategy for the US. He is currently the Under Secretary of War for Policy in the US Department of War. This 2021 book (published by Yale University Press) provides insight into how Colby views strategy broadly, and US military strategy specifically. Colby is well read […]
Tags: #China #Elbridge Colby #Grand Strategy #Iran #Strategy #Strategy of Denial #Taiwan #US
The Narrow Corridor
Nobel prize winners Acemoglu and Robinson followed up their Why Nations Fail (2012) with The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty (2019). I was not impressed with this book. The core argument of this book is not new. It may be more philosophically grounded, but in 2012 Duncan Green wrote From Poverty […]
Tags: #Acemoglu #Duncan Green #Liberty #Philosophy #Politics #Power #Robinson #States #The Narrow Corridor
Hard Truths from Lee Kuan Yew
First printed in 2011, and reprinted in 2023, “Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going” is a question and answer style book based on interviews conducted with Lee Kuan Yew. The discussions were held over many sessions (edited by Kwang, Ibrahim, Hoong, Lim, Low, Lin and Chan). The interesting part about this book is that it […]
Tags: #Governance #Leaders #Leadership #Singapore #Social Cohesion #Talent
The Rise and Fall of Empires
Peter Turchin does fascinating and innovative work, and has been doing so for the better part of three decades. One of his primary research questions he addresses relates to the rise and fall of empires, which this 2006 book outlines. I earlier reviewed his popular 2023 book. In a sense, this is the foundational thinking […]
Tags: #Empire #Political Science #Rise and Fall of Empires #Sociology #Turchin
Public Policy Schools of the Future
On a recent visit to LKY School of Public Policy, the Vice Dean of Executive Education Dr Francesco Mancini shared a copy of this 2026 book he edited. This collection of essays reflects on the 20 year anniversary of LKY SPP (which is #3 Policy School, according to QS). This is a large collection, of […]
Tags: #Future #LKY #Policy School #Public Policy #School of Public Policy #Singapore
Thucydides on Strategy
The authors of this book (Platias and Koliopoulos) analyze the classic work of Thucydides and make a case for its essential reading nature in grand strategy studies. This book was originally published in 2010, and a revised version was published in 2026, with some discussion on the US-China rivalry. The book does not (and the […]
Tags: #Grand Strategy #On Grand Strategy #Strategic Studies #Thucydides #Thucydides Trap
Getting to Yes
This 1981 classic by Fisher and Ury was given to me as a gift when starting a new leadership role. “Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In” is not only a best seller, it has seeped into popular culture as a reference point for negotiation. A few notes: “… in contrast to positional bargaining, […]
Tags: #Inspiration #Inspirational #Leaders #Leadership #Motivation #Motivational
Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment
Ahmet Kuru’s Cambridge University Press book, “Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison” (2019) is a unique and provocative book. Parts of the data referenced are dated (e.g., 2009 and 2010 data in a 2019 publication) but this does not alter the argument being made (which is historically based). In essence, the author […]
Tags: #Authoritarianism #Democracy #Development #Development Studies #History #Islam #Participation #Politics #Power #Underdevelopment
China’s Military Strategy since 1949
M. Taylor Fravel is Professor in, and Director of, the Security Studies Program at MIT. His 2019 Princeton University Press book, “Active Defense: China’s Military Strategy since 1949” presents a detailed, historical analysis of Chinese military strategies, as well as reasons for the shifts undertaken. The book follows a dissertation type format (reiterating the gap […]
Medieval Ethiopian Diplomacy with Latin Europe
Verena Krebs authored a unique and rich historical text on the rationale and motivation of Ethiopian leadership to send off international delegations, particularly to Europe, in the Middle Ages. “Medieval Ethiopian Kingship, Craft, and Diplomacy with Latin Europe” (2021, Palgrave) is extensively researched. The author has a PhD from both Germany and Ethiopia. For historians, […]
About me
Logan Cochrane
Logan is a Professor at HBKU in the College of Public Policy. He is an Associate Fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences and an Adjunct Professor at Hawassa University (Institute for Policy and Development Research). Over the last twenty years, he has worked in Afghanistan, Benin, Burundi, Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Logan acts as a consultant for governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations, seeking to create bridges between research and practice.
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