Thought Provokers
On Grand Strategy
Written by a Yale professor who co-taught courses on grand strategy for nearly two decades, this book (Grand Strategy, 2019) had significant potential to bring together years of teaching into an accessible book (published by a mass market press, not academic press). John Lewis Gaddis is extremely well read, and from diverse fields. The book […]
Tags: #Grand Strategy #John Lewis Gaddis #On Grand Strategy #Power #Strategic Studies #Strategy
Russian Grand Strategy
An edited book published by Manchester University Press in 2022 attempted to gather together perspectives on Russian strategy, if there is one (a question the book starts off with). Andrew Monaghan is the editor of the book, Russian Grand Strategy in the Era of Global Power Competition. Some quotes: “Strategy is not simply about the […]
The Japanese Empire
Published by Cambridge University Press, this 2017 book (The Japanese Empire: Grand Strategy from the Meiji Restoration to the Pacific War) was written by US Naval War College Professor S. C. M. Paine. The book notes some of the enabling factors for Japanese success, ranging from risk taking (p. 26), to rapidly expanding transportation infrastructure […]
The Myth of the Lazy Native
Written in 1977, this classic work by Syed Hussein Alatas is an early critique of knowledge production that relies on colonial records, which shows how identity narratives were linked to colonialist action in Southeast Asia. Notes: “A colonial scholar, journalist, or author is one with a colonial mind whether refined or vulgar. The products of […]
Tags: #Alatas #Colonial gaze #Colonialism #Knowledge #Power #Status
Separate Beds
In Afrikaans, ‘apartheid’ means apartness or separateness. Maureen Lux examines the history of medical apartheid in Canada in the book “Separate Beds: A History of Indian Hospitals in Canada, 1920s-1980s” (2016), published by the University of Toronto Press. The author is a professor of history. A few of the chapters draw on published materials (articles). […]
Tags: #Apartheid #Canada #Colonialism #Colonization #History #Power
Remapping Ethiopia
At the International Conference of Ethiopian Studies in Japan in 1997, scholars proposed a book that would reflect on the transition from the Derg to the EPRDF era, and what the transitions meant for communities across the country. The result was a 2002 book, “Mapping Ethiopia: Socialism & After”, published by Ohio University Press and […]
Tags: #Development Studies #Ethiopia #History #International development #Power
Nuclear War: A Scenario
This 2024 book by Annie Jacobsen, “Nuclear War: A Scenario” is not an academic press and the author has written a number of book-length deep drives into topics with a more journalistic form. This one gives a brief history of the development of nuclear technology and weapons use, however it primarily is a minute by minute […]
Tags: #Conflict #Jacobsen #Nuclear War #Security Policy #War
Geopolitics for the End Time
Former Secretary of State for European Affairs for Portugal, political philosopher Bruno Macaes has penned several books (and is frequently a public commentator). These notes reflect on Geopolitics for the End Times: From the Pandemic to the Climate Crisis (2021). This is the first of his books I have read, and it may not have […]
The Dilemma of Retention
One of the challenges expatriate dependent nations face is how to attract global talent while building capacity nationally. This has often included a mix of nationalization policies along with attraction, development and recruitment policies for the entire workforce. Qatar has a minority citizen population and the large majority of its workforce is expatriate. To assess […]
Tags: #Human Resources #Policy #Qatar #Retention #Talent #Workforce
The Edible Gardens of Ethiopia
Peveri undertook about a decade of visits to southern Ethiopia between 2004 and 2015, and upon which she basis the book The Edible Gardens of Ethiopia – An Ethnographic Journey into Beauty and Hunger (2020). This book is published by the University of Arizona Press. In these notes I share a couple of sociological insights […]
Tags: #Agriculture #Anthropology #Culture #Ethiopia #Sociology
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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