political economy

Social capital in Cambodia

I just published this book written in collaboration with Cambodian colleagues at the Learning Institute in Phnom Penh. Here is the title and abstract. Engaging for the Environment. The Contribution of Social Capital to Community-Based Natural Resource Management in Cambodia Development is not a straight input-output-outcome-impact path, but is more random than that. In this […]

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Technically sound and politically achievable? A taxonomy of knowledge types and their influence on governance in three South-East Asian countries

Technically sound and politically achievable? A taxonomy of knowledge types and their influence on governance in three South-East Asian countries ODI Background Notes, February 2012 Arnaldo Pellini, Maria Dolores Alicias, Nguyen Thi Thu Hang and Palmira Permata Bachtiar This Background Note classifies different types of knowledge that aim to influence policy, which is then used

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Policy makers, politicians or intellectuals?

Should policy makers be intellectuals? This is what Prof. Gary Gutting asks in an interesting article he wrote for the International Herald Tribune. His point of departure is that in his Republic, the Greek philosopher Plato \’put forward the idea of a state ruled by intellectuals who combined comprehensive theoretical knowledge with the practical capacity

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Italian politics, ‘il muro di gomma’, and the challenge for research-evidence to influence policy

Clay and Schaeffer’s book Room for Manoeuvre describes the policy and policy making as ‘as a chaos of purposes and accidents’.  During the workshop facilitated by RAPID we often describe policy making as complex, multifactorial and non linear. The complexity of policy processes described in these two definition has two consequences for the influencing potential

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Accountable governance reforms require the development of independent media

An interesting How-To-Guide on the development of independent media as a key element of accountable governance reforms published by the World Bank. Here > Developing Independent Media as an Institution of Accountable Governance: A How-To Guide Media development seeks to support and promote a pluralistic, editorially independent and financially sustainable media sector. An independent media sector buttresses key governance goals

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Running with a podcast, the filter bubble and its relevance for policy research

I like to run and listen to podcasts. While listening to people’s talks about, for example, the demonstrations in Egypt or the changes that Barak Obama has brought to America, the steady rhythm of the run, which is almost hypnotic, makes me feel as part of the audience.  Particularly in days like today, when I

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