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Know The Beginning Well

Lifelong development worker, K. Y. Amoako reflects on a career with the World Bank and United Nations in “Know the Beginning Well: An Inside Journey Through Five Decades of African Development” (2020). The book is interesting in that the author shares inside views, but lacks critical reflection and does not offer any bold or new […]

Thought Provokers

Decolonizing Politics

  Robbie Shilliam wrote “Decolonizing Politics: An Introduction” in 2021, and it is thankfully affordable for an academic book ($18). The book takes a different road to the conversation that ones I had read, and in that regard it was interest and a great place for new insights. The level of text is well suited […]

Thought Provokers

The Power of Culture

For anyone interested to see Qatar, as opposed to read about it (which most of the Reading Qatar list is), a new publication offers such a presentation. Titled “The Power of Culture” (2022), the book is written by al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, who is the Chairperson of Qatar Museums, Doha Film Institute, Reach Out […]

Thought Provokers

The Theory of a Multipolar World

This is Part 4 of series on books by Dugin, the Russian philosopher (see Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3). This post covers his 2021 book, “The Theory of a Multipolar World”. The book builds on much of what has already been said in earlier books, here I highlight only two points offered in […]

Thought Provokers

Dugin on Racism

Part 3 on Dugin’s works (see Part 1 and Part 2). Many of the attacks and/or associations made of Dugin suggest his philosophy is “far right” and connected with white supremacist movements. While such groups or actors may use his works and some publishers associated with such ideologies, that does not in and of itself mean […]

Thought Provokers

The Great Awakening vs The Great Reset

This is Part 2 of a series on the writing of Dugin (see Part 1 here). This post highlights some key points the author makes in his book The Great Awakening vs The Great Reset, translated into English in 2021 (a very short book, more like an essay at 86 pages of well spaced text). […]

Thought Provokers

Fourth Political Theory

This is the first of a series of posts on (translated) works by Alexander Dugin, a Russian philosopher who is suggested to have significant (in)direct influence over the way Putin sees the world. The first book explored in this series is “The Fourth Political Theory”, written in 2009 and translated in 2012. Much has been […]

Thought Provokers

The Perfect Nine

I have posted about a number of Ngugi wa Thiongo’s academic books (Decolonizing the Mind, Theory and Politics of Knowing, Something Torn and New, Moving the Centre, Secure the Base). For those who know him, Ngugi did not start as an academic and most of his work is non-academic – he has authored much more in the […]

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Worldmaking After Empire

Building on a PhD project, Adom Getachew’s “Worldmaking After Empire: The Rise and Fall of Self-Determination” (2019) explores the ways some leaders and struggles for freedom and dignity were engaged beyond nation-building (of what would become the independent country) but also worldmaking as they engaged with international systems (economic, legal, political). A few notes: “The nationalist movement […]

Thought Provokers

Land to the Tiller

One of Ethiopia’s most radical policy changes in the modern era was land reform, which nullified tenure agreements and redistributed land (changing much of rural Ethiopia from large land holders with farmers as tenants / sharecroppers to farmers as landowners). Ann Oosthuizen (whose connection to this issue or interviewee is not explained) published an interview […]

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