Academic Research – Stories you don’t get to hear

LSE’s Alice Evans checks her privilege as she recounts some of the not-so-pleasant aspects of her fieldwork

Media exposure, familiarity and trust: A note on the fieldwork in Zambia

This contribution reflects upon the author’s earlier exposure to public media and its positive implication on her own fieldwork, encouraging other researchers to consider the potential benefits of being known in the (non-academic) ‘field’. Against the common perception of researchers being ‘quiet observers’ in the field, media exposure brought about familiarity and trust that seemed extremely valuable to the research in Zambia, writes Alice Evans

Does more mean better? #SDGs and the (unmet) need for measurable indicators of egalitarian social change

This post is part of the Africa at LSE, South Asia at LSE and IGC cross-blog series on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Notwithstanding their commendable inclusion of a broad range of feminist concerns, Alice Evans argues that the SDGs will only accelerate egalitarian social change if they comprise measurable indicators of real progress. Equally important to sustaining momentum are the subsequent processes of regional benchmarking and peer review

Book review: why I'm no longer talking to white people about race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

When was the last time you heard a person of colour challenge structural racism – the role of government policies, organisational practices and popular representations in reinforcing racial inequalities – and, in so doing, be widely supported, listened to and heeded? Racial inequalities are stark, yet normalised. White people are privileged yet complacent, and refuse to listen. In her phenomenally brilliant new book, Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race, Reni Eddo-Lodge catalyses an urgent conversation about race in Britain, writes Alice Evans

Book Review: Women and power in postconflict Africa by Aili Mari Tripp

In Women and Power in Postconflict Africa, Aili Mari Tripp provocatively argues that major conflict can have disruptive, egalitarian effects, catalysing women’s increased legislative representation. She demonstrates how conflict has often pushed women into socially valued domains, where they demonstrate their equal abilities and thereby undermine prevailing gender ideologies. Alice Evans explores the theoretical insights of this important scholarship, arguing that the book sheds light on much broader processes of egalitarian social change common to the Global North and South alike

Book review: deals and development: the political dynamics of growth episodes edited by Lant Pritchett, Kunal Sen and Eric Werker

If development is predicated upon sustained economic growth, how can this be achieved? In Deals and Development: The Political Dynamics of Growth Episodes, editors Lant Prichett, Kunal Sen and Eric Werker bring together country experts to examine how businesses have engaged with the state to both constrain and enable growth episodes across ten African and Asian countries. While the book draws on global expertise and actual practices of state-business engagement to superbly illustrate the importance of sustained growth, Alice Evans explores three fundamental questions that the text raises

Book review: Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

When was the last time you heard a person of colour challenge structural racism – the role of government policies, organisational practices and popular representations in reinforcing racial inequalities – and, in so doing, be widely supported, listened to and heeded? Racial inequalities are stark, yet normalised. White people are privileged yet complacent, and refuse to listen. In her phenomenally brilliant new book, Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race, Reni Eddo-Lodge catalyses an urgent conversation about race in Britain, writes Alice Evans

Book review: rules without rights: land, labor and private authority in the global economy by Tim Bartley

The Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, which killed more than 1,100 people, shunted global production networks into the spotlight. We saw the horrors of precarity, lax safety standards and weak representation. These are typical in factories the world over, not aberrations. Sexual harassment is also endemic. Why do these abuses persist? What’s the underlying political economy? Why is private regulation the widely accepted solution? And is it actually working? Alice Evans reviews Rules Without Rights: Land, Labor and Private Authority in the Global Economy, in which Professor Tim Bartley presents a comprehensive analysis of global governance, before setting out an inspirational new agenda

Book review: The long read: the politics of inclusive development: two books, one title by Alice Evans

This comparative review examines two recent books that attend to the politics of inclusive development. As the texts address the central issue through divergent approaches, Alice Evans identifies and outlines four key shared themes – namely, state capacity, elite commitment, coalition-building and consensus – and discusses three striking omissions in these fascinating studies