Democracy
The Challenge of Democracy from Below
Edited volumes do not tend to have staying power as a publication – collections of essays pass like most academic articles. Rarely does an edited volume remain an essential reading for decades. “Ethiopia: The Challenge of Democracy from Below” edited by Bahru Zewde and Siegfried Pausewang (2002) is one of those books. A number of […]
Tags: #Democracy #Ethiopia #Governance #Participation #Power
Civil Society & Development
“Civil society has established itself at the beginning of the twenty-first century as a significant, even paradigmatic concept in the field of development policy and practice” wrote Jude Howell and Jenny Pearce in their 2001 book “Civil Society and Development: A Critical Exploration” (p. 1). Yet, how do donors conceptualize, fund and engage with civil […]
Tags: #Civil society #Civil society and development #Democracy #Development #social capital
The Price of Inequality
Joseph Stiglitz is one of the most respected economists of our times and a person who has also held positions of significant influence, including chief economist of the World Bank and chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors for the US President (Clinton). In 2012 he authored “The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society […]
Tags: #America #Democracy #Inequality #Stiglitz #The Price of Inequality
From Dictatorship to Democracy
One of the world’s leading thinkers and activists for advancing democratic governance through non-violent action is Gene Sharp. He founded the Albert Einstein Institute and is a multiple-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, as well as recipient of many other notable awards. He has authored many books, but one of his most influential and most widely […]
Tags: #Democracy #Dictatorship #Gene Sharp #Governance #Nonviolence
Capitalism vs The Climate
Naomi Klien’s “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate” (2014) is not a case for how climate change is real or important to consider, it is a call to action. From a research perspective, I was not overly impressed with the book. However, a few chapters into my reading I realized I had approached the […]
Tags: #Capitalism #Climate change #Democracy #How change happens #Naomi Klein
PhD (x3) and Postdoc: Participatory urban governance
‘Participatory urban governance between democracy and clientelism: Brokers and (in)formal politics’ is a five-year research project financed by the European Research Council (2016-2021), led by Dr Martijn Koster. This research project investigates ethnographically how brokers position themselves in participatory urban governance. It examines their practices, discourses and networks, both in and outside officially sanctioned channels […]
Tags: #Brokers #Democracy #Ethnography #Governance #Participation
Contesting Power
Acemoglu and Robinson’s Why Nations Fail (2012) offers insight into why wealth and poverty exists (see post here). It also provides direction as to how more inclusive political and economic institutions are formed, which draws on their 2006 book, On the Origins of Democracy and Dictatorship. They open with a comment about the Arab Spring: […]
Tags: #Democracy #Inclusive #Institutions #Power #Rule of law
Rules for Radicals
Saul Alinsky was one of the most influential community organizers, activists and rabble-rousers of his time (1909-1972). His most well known work is “Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals” (1971). The book provides a wealth of interesting examples of community organizing, these stories and experiences make the book well worth the read, […]
Tags: #collective action #Democracy #Participation #Participatory #Social change
Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy
Acemoglu and Robinson are most well known for their book Why Nations Fail. This thought provoker post covers an earlier work, from 2006: Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. Parts of this book are heavy with the formulas; so those wary of economics and mathematics, and interested in more of the social sciences side of political […]
Tags: #Democracy #Dictatorship #Institutions #Middle Class #Power
On “peasants” and GMOs
Hardt and Negri’s “Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire” (2004) is a work of political philosophy, and specifically a book about democracy (presented here). Some points raised in the book offer interesting food for thought, potentially of use in the classroom, or for contrasting different opinions, for example: On the “peasant”: “It makes […]
Tags: #Democracy #Frankenfoods #Genetically modified organisms #GMOs #Peasant
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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