Since the end of the fall semester of 2011, I have been working on a paper that integrates theories of ethnic cooperation and information asymmetries to understand why mobile phones can have a significant effect on conflict prevention. You can find the working paper here. I presented this paper in Australia at the University of … Continue reading Kenya Trip! Mixed method research on mobile phones for peace
Book Review! Scott Strauss’s “The Order of Genocide”
As time passes and we are able to collect more data on the Rwandan genocide, it is becoming increasingly important that we recognize not only the externalities that created socio-political pressure in Rwanda leading up to the genocide, but also systematically study why the perpetrators of violence made the decision to participate. Generally we see … Continue reading Book Review! Scott Strauss’s “The Order of Genocide”
The Design Side: Some lessons learned from the DHNetwork sim from the designer
So for those who don't know, this past Sunday I designed a simulation and training day for the Digital Humanitarian Network that we ran as part of ICCM. It was probably one of the most challenging simulations I've worked on for a number of reasons, but also probably one of the most important. I'll walk … Continue reading The Design Side: Some lessons learned from the DHNetwork sim from the designer
How ICCM Got Me Thinking About Experimental Design
We have all probably had a time when we thought to ourselves,"I have to tweet hard since most people won't see/remember one particular tweet." I would generally agree, but there was one tweet that stuck in my mind from the International Conference on Crisis Mapping this past weekend at the World Bank. It got some … Continue reading How ICCM Got Me Thinking About Experimental Design
Amnesty Australia talk
Big shout out to the TechChange team, especially to Gerard McCarthy our Director of Asia/Pacific Programs to getting this video rendered, edited, and up for viewing. Just some thoughts on tech, human rights and small island states - the talk was given in July in Sydney, Australia.
The political economy of cynicism: What else could you do with $100,000 in Pakistan?
I'm generally not big on entering into the fray when it comes to the politics of the Muslim world, since I'm not an expert on the topic. But I am an expert on political economy and coalition behavior is contested spaces. The news of Pakistan's Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour's $100,000 reward to anyone who murders Nakoula … Continue reading The political economy of cynicism: What else could you do with $100,000 in Pakistan?
Friday Wrap-up
What's happened in political economy, conflict and tech this week? Every Friday I'm going to take on the personal challenge of writing a wrap-up with a bit of analysis, along with the usual longer posts and book reviews. So without further ado... Mining strikes continue in South Africa after the Lonmin miners' strike in August. … Continue reading Friday Wrap-up
Philippe Le Billon: Wars of Plunder (Columbia University Press: 2012)
Philippe Le Billon’s Wars of Plunder takes previous research on the mathematical relationship between natural resources and conflict and combines this with qualitative understandings of power and space to create a nuanced explanation of how different natural resources relate to conflict. Focusing initially on work done by economists such as Paul Collier and Macartan Humphreys, … Continue reading Philippe Le Billon: Wars of Plunder (Columbia University Press: 2012)
Benghazi part 2
So I was going to do two parts, but upon reflection I decided against it. The second aspect I was thinking about writing on was fairly partisan, and while politics is part of this site's purview I decided in the end it's best to leave the partisanship to the domestic politics folks. I'll have a … Continue reading Benghazi part 2
The Benghazi Incident: In two parts (Part 1)
So there are just things I have to say about this tragedy. This stems from two comments I made on Facebook this morning and I will write two separate posts because they're effectively different topics on the same event. This part is in reference to my dual background as a political scientist and a seminarian. … Continue reading The Benghazi Incident: In two parts (Part 1)
Charles P. Martin-Shields 