— Chris Blattman criticises the UN and NGOs in the threat broken promises play in fragile states.
- The young generation’s message on world history thus far to the United Nations (via Chris Blattman: Wronging Rights: mclem)
This installment of links I loved is brought to you by my old faithfuls, the people I read even when I have no time to read (like this week itself)…ah, their wonderfully wise words….
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Need some ideas on how to go about changing the world? Nicholas Kristof gives you somewhere to start. (NYT)
The Congo is not a good place to be right now for many people, but especially the Congolese. And there are mumblings that a planned Truth and Reconciliation Commission just ain’t going to cut it:
Attention everyone: please stand aside while the international knee jerks - Chris Blattman
If you are reading this it is unlikely you are a person who is deliberately and relentlessly uninformed, but I bet you know someone who is:
The thing is, watching TV has its benefits. It excuses you from the responsibility of having an informed opinion about things that matter. It gives you shallow opinions or false ‘facts’ that you can easily parrot to others that watch what you watch. It rarely unsettles our carefully self-induced calm and isolation from the world. - Seth Godin
After the week of creative idea explosions I’ve had for my Wilderness Society work, I enjoyed contemplating where good ideas come from.
And lastly, What do you wish for? (via Mondoblogo)
Poverty doesn’t cause conflict, according to Chris Blattman, who is doing research on conflict and governance in Africa.
I like the stuff from Chris, and link to him fairly often, because he says new things about poverty. He challenges my preconceived ideas (like that unemployed young men increase the risk of conflict) in interesting ways.
Of particular interest to me today are his thoughts on the future of International NGOs and their role in good governance:
- It’s a good moment for conflict NGOs to rethink their future
- Institutional change and peace-building are a local processes you can (at best) support
- It’s harder than most of the things you do
- Do it seriously or don’t mess around
- Have realistic expectations of the pace of change
- Experiment and innovate
One thing I worry about with NGOs is the ability to turn the ship around mid course, if that’s what is needed. More than that, I worry that many NGOs work so hard, with so little staff, on such big/important projects, that the capabilities for quality monitoring and evaluation are seriously limited.
Suggestion? Add Chris to your google reader/news feed (you have one of those, right?)
Chris Blattman is an interesting dude with a knack for explaining numbers with words, with a particular focus on the developing world. In this post he gives some great examples of the challenges of doing business in Ethiopia. Here is my favourite:
You know how to run a business, and have a pile of cash. The firm down the street is mismanaged and cash poor. Why not buy an ownership stake, get it profitable, and sell the now valuable shares to other local investors?Then use the cash to do the same thing four more times? Sounds great. Now I just need accountants to do the audits, I-bankers to do the due diligence, lawyers to write up the contracts. A whole class of financial professionals who… basically don’t exist. Crud.
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