Thought Provokers
Elections and Development in Africa
What does democracy / democratization result in within African contexts? Robin Harding argues that due to the increase of elections, combined with a majority of many countries being rural, is an increase in rural interests as an outcome. The answer is summarized in his 2020 book “Rural Democracy: Elections and Development in Africa”, which is […]
Tags: #Africa #Democracy #elections #Robin Harding #Rural Bias
Dissident Knowledge in Higher Education
In 2015 a symposium was held at the University of Regina on “Public Engagement and the Politics of Evidence in an Age of Neoliberalism and Audit Culture”, which went on to be the basis of the book “Dissident Knowledge in Higher Education”, published in 2018 by the University of Regina Press. The book is edited […]
Tags: #Audit Culture #Dissident knowledge #Higher education #James McNinch #Marc Spooner
Measuring Tomorrow
There are piles of critiques of economic indicators driving decision making, and a range of proposals for alternatives. In 2018 Eloi Laurent published “Measuring Tomorrow: Accounting for Well-Being, Resilience, and Sustainability in the Twenty-First Century”, which proposes new metrics. The book gives concrete examples of metrics and existing data sets – for those interested in […]
Tags: #Eloi Laurent #Measuring Tomorrow #Metrics #Resilience #Sustainailbity
Readings in Methodology – African Perspectives
The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), based in Dakar, Senegal, has produced some excellent books and journals. One example of this is “Readings in Methodology – African Perspectives”, published in 2011, and edited by Jean-Bernard Ouedraogo and Carlos Cardoso. The book has five parts: (1) social reasons for scientific […]
Tags: #African Perspectives #Carlos Cardoso #CODESRIA #Jean-Bernard Ouedraogo #Methodology
Agroecology – Science & Politics
If you are looking for an introduction to agroecology and/or a textbook for a course on sustainable agriculture, “Agroecology: Science and Politics” (2017) by Rosset and Altieri is it. This book is written by leading experts, activists, and advocates (which motivates the book), for students this might be read in combination with a parallel book […]
Masters of the Pearl
From the many historical books of Qatar, one of the newest is “Masters of the Pearl: A History of Qatar” (2020) by Michael Quentin Morton. The author has written a history of the UAE, oil in the Middle East, Buraimi, his father’s life as an oil geologist, and this book on Qatar (where he spent […]
Critical Development Studies: An Introduction
I try to keep an eye out for useful teaching materials, particularly ones that provide unique perspectives on issues that students may not have encountered in their studies (unfortunately many courses are similar ideas/voice on repeat, in various forms). “Critical Development Studies: In Introduction” (2018) by Veltmeyer and Wise is brief (170 pages), easy to […]
Tags: #Books #Critical Development Studies #Development Studies #International Development #Introduction
Claim No Easy Victories
Given how little is available about or on Cabral, the edited collection by Firoze Manji and Bill Fletcher Jr (2013) is a welcome addition. The book is titled “Claim No Easy Victories: The Legacy of Amilcar Cabral”, with 38 chapters and seven sections (many chapters are brief), including a chapter by the late Samir Amin. […]
Tags: #Amilcar Cabral #Cabral #Claim No Easy Victories #Culture #Return to the Roots
Moving the Centre: The Struggle for Cultural Freedoms
Ngugi wa Thiongo is a giant in the decolonization community, in 1986 he wrote Decolonizing the Mind, he also wrote Theory and the Politics of Knowing, Secure the Base, Something Torn and New, amongst many others (including a list of fiction works). This post shares some notes from his 1993 book Moving the Centre: The […]
Tags: #Cultural Freedom #decolonization #Language #Moving the Centre #Ngugi wa Thiongo
China’s Gilded Age
China’s Gilded Age (2020) by Yuen Yuen Ang is an accessible read that is well worth reading for multiple reasons. The book advances theoretical understandings on corruption and poverty, it presents creative methodologies that could inspire all sorts of new research, and presents unique findings that explain how China sustained high levels of economic growth […]
Tags: #China #Corruption #Development
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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