Buur, Lars

English

This chapter focuses on the process of ‘muddling through’ by following the process of developing an analytical and theoretical model in the Elites Production and Poverty (EPP) programme. This is done by following the process of modelling in the research programme. Modelling has always been part of Ole Therkildsens’s modus operandi, right from his key work Watering White Elephants in 1988 to his contribution to finalizing the EPP programme with the 2015 Cambridge University Press book, The Politics of African Industrial Policy. What relates the two works is a three-dimensional model first developed by Korten (1980) for capturing the requirements of the learning approach for project implementation. The EPP, after testing various models in an iterative process, ended up further developing Korten’s model. The EPP initiallyused the model to depict key analytical processes, but over time the explanatorymodel became what had to be explained. The complex processes depicted by the model, in other words, went from being an independent variable to being the dependent variable in the final stages of writing up. The chapter is based on models drawn up from the EPP programme and gives form to the research group’s muddling through towards finalizing the book.This chapter focuses on the process of ‘muddling through’ by following the process of developing an analytical and theoretical model in the Elites Production and Poverty (EPP) programme. This is done by following the process of modelling in the research programme. Modelling has always been part of Ole Therkildsens’s modus operandi, right from his key work Watering White Elephants in 1988 to his contribution to finalizing the EPP programme with the 2015 Cambridge University Press book, The Politics of African Industrial Policy. What relates the two works is a three-dimensional model first developed by Korten (1980) for capturing the requirements of the learning approach for project implementation. The EPP, after testing various models in an iterative process, ended up further developing Korten’s model. The EPP initiallyused the model to depict key analytical processes, but over time the explanatorymodel became what had to be explained. The complex processes depicted by the model, in other words, went from being an independent variable to being the dependent variable in the final stages of writing up. The chapter is based on models drawn up from the EPP programme and gives form to the research group’s muddling through towards finalizing the book

Roskilde Universitet

‘Muddling through’ by way of modelling:Representing complex relationships

https://forskning.ruc.dk/files/55449917/Perspectives_on_Politics_DIIS_2015.pdf

‘Muddling through’ by way of modelling:Representing complex relationships

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Roskilde Universitet