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The Idea of Africa
One of the classic critiques of scholarship on Africa (and conceptualizations thereof more broadly) was penned by the Congolese scholar (and Duke professor) V. Y. Mudimbe in his “The Invention of Africa” (1988), which was followed by this book, “The Idea of Africa” (1994). This book revolves around the idea of “Africa” as an idea, […]
Tags: #Africa #History #Mudimbe #Otherness #The Idea of Africa
Power and Progress
Turkish-American economist and recent Nobel prize winner, Daron Acemoglu, along with British-American economist and also recent Nobel prize winner, Simon Johnson, penned the 2023 book Power and Progress. Given the star power, one starts the book with high expectations. There are a number of books that survey the history of innovation, such as Ridley’s 2020 […]
Tags: #Acemoglu #Inclusive innovation #Innovation #Power and Progress #Simon Johnson
Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam
I read this book in an appropriate location, while on a recent trip to Malaysia, where this book was penned. Syed Muhammad Naquib al Attas is a Malaysian philosopher and has written a list of publications, this book, “Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam – An Exposition on the Fundamental Elements of the Worldview of […]
The World For Sale
This is a 2021 Oxford University Press book, which I expected to more on the academic end but leans toward storytelling and a mass market book. The stories are interesting and well told. Book might be a good audiobook for trains or driving. Written by Javier Blas and Jack Farchy, both are journalists. “Without the […]
Tags: #Commodities #Ethics #Globalization #Markets #The World For Sale
End Times
Why do nations rise and fall, different theorists and theories abound, in “End Times – Elites, Counter-Elites and the Path of Political Disintegration” (2023) Peter Turchin gives some answers. What I really appreciate about Turchin’s work is the methodological rigor and the use of data. His approach takes in components of culture, history, geography and […]
Tags: #Cliodynamics #Elite over-production #End Times #Inequality #Turchin
Frames of War
Judith Butler has penned many well read and influential publications. Frames of War (2010) is a collection of (revised) essays that were written between 2004 and 2008. The content covers some challenging territory, including details of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. Not sure these books are well worth obtaining, but attracted me to a collection of […]
Tags: #Dehumanization #Frames of War #Judith Butler #precarity #Violence
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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