…allows citizens to get action when public services fail. The civil servants in the room happily disagreed with each other – fascinating to see an internal debate like this –…
Book Review: Branko Milanovic, Capitalism, Alone: The Future of the System that Rules the World
…into a pretty unconvincing ‘China must ultimately fail because it’s not like the US’ theory of history. But Milanovic has an answer: ‘it is precisely in the neglected history of…
Theories of change = logframes on steroids? A discussion with DFID
…a shift in culture and incentives – e.g. circuit breaker reviews must have a convincing discussion on failure and what we’ve learned – if a project can’t demonstrate failure as…
Why do stable Political Party systems suddenly collapse? Some intriguing insights from Bolivia: Podcast (20m) and blogpost
…Hence as society changes – even as a result of policies they implemented – parties tend to get left behind. When established parties fail, in which underlying social cleavage will…
What will drive action on climate change if negotiations can’t?
I’ve been mulling over the extraordinary shift in public mood since the Copenhagen summit. The devastating combination of a failed summit, the Democrats’ loss of the supermajority in the Senate…
Cambodia = Singapore or Myanmar? What does the future hold for a people still recovering from the Khmer Rouge?
…in politics – it’s like using an egg to break a rock; even if the rock is cracked, you will fail. If anyone speaks out, run far away’. ‘No-one’s cleverer…
Book Review: Can Intervention Work? Rory Stewart and Gerald Knaus
…to fail because of its self-defeating combination of ‘isolation, optimism and abstraction’. Isolation is born of the ‘overwhelming burden on ambassadors and managers to ensure their civilian staff take no…
Payment by Results in Aid: What’s new?
…discusses a little the latest research on innovation, which recommends not punishing failure in early stages, but giving handsome rewards over a period of time later in the contract. That…
What’s it like Explaining NGOs to Senior Military types from 40 Countries?
…fail to grasp this. Incompatible aims: eg the military pursuing stability, and the INGOs seeking respect for human rights. Sometimes you can argue that the two overlap, but not always….