Blog

New Publications (2018, Jan-Mar)

New publications from 2018: Cochrane, L, Boulanger, R. F., Sheikheldin, G. H. and Song, G. (2018) The Case for Local Ethics Oversight in International Development Research. Canadian Journal of Bioethics 1: 8-16. [from journal here] Cochrane, L. and Cafer, A. (2018) Does Diversification Enhance Community Resilience? A Critical Perspective. Resilience. [from journal here] Cochrane, L. and Rao, […]

Tags: #Ethics #Ethiopia #Gender #Research for Development #Resilience

Research
A Decade of Ethiopia: Politics, Economy and Society

A Decade of Ethiopia: Politics, Economy and Society

As appears in Progress in Development Studies 18(2): 147-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1464993417749150 Abbink, Jon. 2017: A Decade of Ethiopia: Politics, Economy and Society 2004-2016. Leiden: Brill. 253 pp. $24.00. ISBN: 9789004345881. Ethiopia is a country of contradictions. There have been sustained, high rates of macro-economic growth and progress on development indicators, with persistently high levels of poverty […]

Tags: #Abbink #Economy #Ethiopia #Politics #Society

Thought Provokers
The Black Man’s Burden

The Black Man’s Burden

The role of institutions in development has becoming increasingly important, most notably in the recent works “Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy” (2006) and “Why Nations Fail” (2012). Before these books, Basil Davidson wrote “The Black Man’s Burden: Africa and the Curse of the Nation-State” (1992), which places a large emphasis on the role of […]

Tags: #Basil Davidson #Black Man's Burden #Colonialism #decolonization #Institutions

Thought Provokers
The ‘Nelson Mandela’ You Have Probably Not Heard About

The ‘Nelson Mandela’ You Have Probably Not Heard About

Robert Sobukwe (1924-1978). Leader of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) in South Africa, a focal leader in the struggle against apartheid, Sobukwe was so feared by the apartheid government that after he led a mass non-violence protests to break unjust laws, he was jailed indefinitely for fear of what he might do. A law was […]

Tags: #How Can Man Die Better #Robert Sobukwe #Sobukwe #Sobukwe clause #South Africa

Thought Provokers
Revolution and Authoritarianism in North Africa

Revolution and Authoritarianism in North Africa

The Arab Spring caught everyone by surprise, but was quickly explained as an expected, inevitable event. How can these largely contradictory narratives be brought together? This is part of the task undertaken in “Revolution and Authoritarianism in North Africa” (2017) by Frederic Volpi. The author writes that the “book strives to retain the implications of […]

Tags: #Arab Spring #Arab Uprising #Authoritarianism #North Africa #Revolution

Thought Provokers
Stranglehold on Africa

Stranglehold on Africa

In 1962 Rene Dumont wrote False Start in Africa, which offered unique perspectives for the time period, many of which continue to be relevant. I picked up “Stranglehold on Africa” by Rene Dumont and Marie-France Mottin (1983) hoping to find an equally interesting ideas. I did not find it as good as the earlier work. […]

Tags: #Africa #Agriculture #Development Studies #Rene Dumont #Stranglehold on Africa

Thought Provokers