Members and guests of the AAG’s Development Geographies Specialty Group (DGSG) will meet on Thursday, February 23, from 5PM until 8PM in midtown Manhattan for the 2012 DGSG Pre-Conference. Click here for the event poster. Drawing from their own research, 7 presenters will each deliver a 7-minute Policy Plea, followed by open discussion in plenary session. [...]
Archive for the ‘International Politics’ Category
About.com and Good Generation posts on Kara’s and my World Development article
Posted in Health and Development, International Politics on January 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
A colleague (thanks, John!) just alerted me that Joanne Fritz, in a recent post on About.com, included a really neat discussion of Kara’s and my recent article in World Development as “Food For Thought“. Thien Nguyen-Trung also covered the piece and posted an excellent summary and comments on his blog, Good Generation.
DW interview on QDDR: no blueprint for other countries
Posted in Development Theory, International Politics on January 12, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
DW Deutsche Welle (the “German BBC”) recently interviewed me on the State Department’s First Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR). Professor James Davis at St. Gallen University, Switzerland and I were asked to comment on whether the mainstreaming of development policy into diplomacy is an approach that other countries should consider as well. What a neat [...]
How the World Bank Institute spin-doctors urban development
Posted in International Politics, Urban Politics on August 19, 2010 | 2 Comments »
In June, I attended a new event format launched by the World Bank Institute (WBI). The Innovative Cities: Global Dialogue brings together mayors, corporate interests, some fig-leaf activists and a large number of Bank staffers (and presumably academic researchers as well, though I saw very few) to discuss urban development challenges and opportunities. UN-Habitat and [...]
New OECD Report: “Do No Harm: International Support for Statebuilding”
Posted in Afghanistan, Development Theory, International Politics, Peace and Conflict on February 8, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Despite the best of intentions, donors can inadvertently undermine statebuilding processes. When the resources they deliver or the reforms they advocate weaken rather than strengthen the state’s decision- and policy-making functions, their efforts can do more harm than good. Donors can also do harm by creating a brain drain away from state organizations. When aid [...]
Politicophobia: How the UN Fails Afghanistan
Posted in Afghanistan, Development Theory, International Politics, Peace and Conflict on January 4, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
In a parliamentary democracy with a president at the executive helm, it is one of the former’s most critical prerogatives to review, approve or potentially reject the latter’s cabinet. This is the procedure followed in the U.S. and many other countries in the world. Even the otherwise weak European Parliament in Strasbourg retains the right [...]
Gary Gaile Development Geographies Pre-Conference in DC
Posted in Afghanistan, Development Theory, Health and Development, International Politics, Urban Politics on December 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Development Geographies Specialty Group of the AAG is delighted to present the “Gary Gaile Development Geographies Pre-Conference” in Washington, DC, a one-day event in April 2010 which is themed around innovative policies and approaches emerging at the interface of research and practice. Merging debate around cutting edge research and acute practical challenges, the format [...]
Comparing Afghan Apples With Vietnamese Oranges, or Why There Is No Solution For Afghanistan
Posted in Afghanistan, International Politics, Peace and Conflict on December 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Once upon a time, not too long ago, there would have been a solution for Afghanistan, one that had a realistic chance of success. “Success” would have meant a stabilization of the modest gains made during the first three of the post-war years (2002-2004), and the “solution” would have looked roughly as follows: a highly [...]
An End to Development? The Appointment of Dirk Niebel as BMZ Liquidator
Posted in International Politics on October 26, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Scarcity facilitates choice. But finding senior politicians who are qualified for high-ranking federal posts can be a headache nonetheless. Germany’s political establishment, not precisely littered with luminaries in the field of International Development, has yet to rival France’s courage to appoint Medecins Sans Frontieres founder Bernard Kouchner as Foreign Minister. While deserving credit for pushing [...]