Thought Provokers
Can We Know Better? Reflections for Development
Cochrane, L. (2019) Review: Can We Know Better? Reflections for Development. Progress in Development Studies 19: 84-86. Starting in the 1980s, there have been regular publications of books that invite critical self-reflection in development study and practice: Rural Development: Putting the Last First (1983), Challenging the Professions (1993), Whose Reality Counts? (1997), Participatory Workshops (2002), […]
Tags: #Can We Know Better #Development #Development Studies #Reflections for Development #Robert Chambers
Human Rights and the Food Sovereignty Movement
Priscilla Claeys’s “Human Rights and the Food Sovereignty Movement: Reclaiming Control” (2015) had some high level support and praise (Jun Borras, Olivier De Schutter, etc). The beginning of the abstract reads: “Our global food system is undergoing rapid change. Since the global food crisis of 2007-2008, a range of new issues have come to public […]
Tags: #Food Security #Food Sovereignty #Human Rights #La Via Campesina #Legal Advocacy
Education, Politics and Social Change in Ethiopia
In looking for research that explores the challenges of ethnic federalism and language in Ethiopia, I came across the book “Education, Politics and Social Change in Ethiopia” (2010), edited by Paulos Milkias (Concordia University) and Messay Kebede (University of Dayton). All of the contributing authors are based outside of Ethiopia, which is not necessarily negative, […]
Tags: #Education #Ethiopia #Language #Politics #Social change
Kofi Annan – Interventions
Kofi Annan (1938-2018) was the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006, a turbulent time to say the least. He penned “Interventions: A Life in War and Peace” (2012) with Nader Mousavizadeh to provide some of the high, lows, challenges and successes of his time leading the UN. The book is a recounting […]
Tags: #Colonialism #Kofi Annan #Leadership #Security Council #United Nations
Who Really Feeds the World
Vandava Shiva was one of the earliest challengers to corporate control of food and the food system. In her most recent book, “Who Really Feeds the World: The Failures of Agribusiness and the Promise of Agroecology” (2016), Shiva continues the activism. While I am generally in agreement with the positions advocated in the book, it […]
Tags: #Agribusiness #Agroecology #Food system #Vandana Shiva #Who Really Feeds the World?
The History of Famine and Epidemics in Ethiopia
Richard Pankhurst made significant contributions to the study of history in Ethiopia (see a listing of some of his works here). In this book, “The History of Famine and Epidemics in Ethiopia Prior to the Twentieth Century” (1985), published by the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, Richard Pankhurst brings together a series of others works: The […]
Tags: #Epidemics #Ethiopia #Famine #Food Security #Pankhurst
America, the Taliban, and the War through Afghan Eyes
Anand Gopal was a Pulitzer finalist and won the Ridenhour Prize for “No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban, and the War through Afghan Eyes” (2014). For those interested in Afghanistan, I’ve covered books by Ahmed Rashid, William Dalrymple and Stephen Saideman elsewhere. Gopal’s book is an excellent read and presents the counter-narrative […]
Tags: #Afghanistan #Anand Gopal #No Good Men Among the Living #Taliban #War on Terror
Empire (Hardt & Negri)
“Empire” (2000) by Hardt and Negri lines many shelves and sits on many recommended reading lists on the Left. I have written up a summary of their 2004 book, for anyone interested – that book is also easier reading for those not interested or well versed in Marxist literature / terminology. Empire presents a detailed […]
The History of the Ethiopian Army
Richard Pankhurst made innumerable contributions to the history of Ethiopia. I found an original copy of “An Introduction fo the History of the Ethiopian Army”, published by the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force, 101st Training Centre, in 1967. The Forward (of only 2 pages) by Colonel Aberra Wolde Mariam provide interesting insight into the thinking of […]
Collective Choice and Social Welfare
Amartya Sen has made significant contributions to economics, development studies and philosophy. His early work actually focused on collective choice, which was the the topic of his 1970 book “Collective Choice and Social Welfare” (re-printed with significant additions in 2017). In the 2017 Introduction, Sen outlines what social choice theory is and the broad array […]
Tags: #Amartya Sen #Capabilities #Collective Choice and Social Welfare #Economics #Group choice
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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