Thought Provokers
Wichale: The Attempt to Establish a Protectorate over Ethiopia
On May 2, 1889, Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia and Count Pietro Antonelli of Italy signed the Treaty of Wichale. Menelik had a relatively long relationship with Italy in his rise to power, and the Italians supported him as he sought to become Emperor. The Treaty of Wichale, according to the Italian version, gave Italy […]
Tags: #Ethiopia #History #Menelik II #Sven Rubenson #Wichale
Can Intervention Work?
Crises call for action. Bosnia, Somalia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen… The international community has responded to countries experiencing crisis in a range of ways, from heavy-handed military action to neglect. Have the activities achieved their objective? And, if not, what might be do differently in responding to crises in the future? This is the […]
Tags: #Development #Humanitarian #International community #Intervention
Ethiopia’s First Land Tenure Study
In 1965, H. S. Mann published “Land Tenure in Chore (Shoa): A Pilot Study” (data collection took place in 1963). It was Ethiopia’s first land tenure study. It is a product of the Haile Sellassie I University, one of the many great publications that emerged during this time period – and which are increasingly difficult […]
Tags: #Ethiopia #Haile Sellassie I University #Land #Land rights #Land Tenure
Ethiopia: Victorious Struggle Against Fascism
The Derg / military government era of Ethiopia (1974-1991) is often glossed over as a terrible period, epitomized by the ‘red terror’ that rooted out any opposition and eliminated it. As a result, while there is much documentation on the atrocities, less is known about the rest of the social, political, ideological and legal aspects. […]
Tags: #Derg #Ethiopia #Fascism #History #Ministry of Information
A History of Modern Ethiopia
Bahru Zewde has penned some excellent books: The Challenge of Democracy from Below (2002), Pioneers of Change (2002) and The Quest for Socialist Utopia (2014). This post covers “A History of Modern Ethiopia 1855-1991” (originally published in 1991, second edition in 2001). Richard Pankhurst, one of the great historians for Ethiopia, described Bahru Zewde as […]
Tags: #Bahru Zewde #Ethiopia #History #Italian legacy #Iyyasu
The Last Post-Cold War Socialist Federation
Semahagn Gashu Abebe’s “The Last Post-Cold War Socialist Federation: Ethnicity, Ideology and Democracy in Ethiopia” (2014) offers a wealth of insight in Ethiopian federalism, with a particular strength of offering depth of constitutional context. Of recent, much has been said of Ethiopia’s “developmental state” approach, less about its “revolutionary democracy”. Semahagn provides useful context on […]
Tags: #Contradictions #Developmental state #Ethiopia #Federalism #Revolutionary democracy
Navigation by Judgement
In development studies and practice we can get excited by new ideas, and over-stretch them. Participation was a cure all, then it became tyranny, and now we have more informed ‘split ladders’ that help determine when, where, why and how participation can work well. The rise of results- and evidence-based decision making was at its […]
Tags: #Development Practice #Development Studies #Evaluation #Learning #Navigation by Judgement
I Write What I Like – Steve Biko
Similar to other giants of the struggle against apartheid, we do not have a book written by Steve Biko that pens his ideas. For Robert Sobukwe, a biography was written, while for Steve Biko, we have a collection of his writings and transcripts, first published in 1978. The book contains powerful ideas, some of which […]
Tags: #Apartheid #I Write What I Like #Power #South Africa #Steve Biko
The Development Dance
The practice of development is messy. Far too often it is much more messy we tend to acknowledge. That messiness often does not appear RCTs or evaluations, but it has a significant impact on the implementation of activities. One of the layers of messiness is the negotiation between donor and recipient governments, covered in Haley […]
Tags: #Development Dance #Development Studies #Donors #International development #Politics
Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance
Institutions have (re)emerged as a popular topic in development studies, particularly after Why Nations Fail (2012). However, the study of institutions and institutional change should trace back to key work of Douglass C. North, namely the 1990 book “Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance”. Given several decades have passed, parts of the book are less […]
Tags: #Douglass C. North #Economics #History #Institutional change #Institutions
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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