Reflexive engagements: the international development blogging evolution and its challenges

Writing weblogs (blogs) has become a substantial part of how development is discussed on the Internet. Based on research with development bloggers and the authors' own social media practice, this article is an exploratory case study to approach the impact of blogging on reflective writing, work practices, as well as knowledge management. Based on interviews with bloggers, the article undertakes an analysis of bloggers' motivations and the potential as well as limitations of blogs for different sectors of the industry, for example in academia, inside aid organisations, and in understanding expatriate aid workers. Finally, the article explores the question of whose voice is represented in blogs.

Engagements basés sur la réflexion : l’évolution des blogs consacrés au développement international et les défis qu'elle présente

Les blogs sont devenus un élément considérable de la forme que prennent les discussions ayant trait au développement sur internet. Cet article se base sur des recherches menées auprès de blogueurs dans le secteur du développement et sur la propre pratique des auteurs en matière de médias sociaux, et présente une étude de cas exploratoire visant à aborder l'impact des blogs sur l’écriture réflexive, les pratiques de travail, ainsi que la gestion des connaissances. Sur la base d'entretiens avec des blogueurs, l'article entreprend une analyse des motivations des blogueurs et du potentiel, ainsi que des limites, des blogs pour différents secteurs de l'industrie, par exemple dans le milieu universitaire, au sein des organisations d'aide et au moment de comprendre les travailleurs humanitaires expatriés. Enfin, cet article examine la question de savoir quelles sont les entités dont la voix est représentée sur les blogs.

Intercambios reflexivos: la evolución del blog en torno al desarrollo internacional y sus retos

Los blogs se han convertido en un componente sustancial de la discusión sobre desarrollo que tiene lugar en Internet. Apoyándose en investigaciones realizadas con blogueros del desarrollo y en las experiencias de los autores con medios sociales, el presente artículo hace referencia a un estudio de caso exploratorio, cuyo objetivo se orientó a conocer el impacto que han tenido los blogs en los artículos analíticos, en las prácticas laborales y en la gestión de conocimientos. Mediante entrevistas realizadas a blogueros, el artículo analiza sus motivaciones, así como el potencial y las limitaciones de los blogs a nivel de distintos sectores —por ejemplo, en la academia, en las organizaciones de ayuda humanitaria y en la comprensión de los funcionarios de estas organizaciones en el extranjero. Para finalizar, el artículo examina la pregunta ¿de quién es la opinión que se expresa en los blogs?

Engajamentos reflexivos: a evolução de blogs sobre desenvolvimento internacional e seus desafios

Escrever weblogs (blogs) tem se tornado uma parte expressiva de como a questão sobre desenvolvimento é discutida na Internet. Baseado em experiências de blogueiros, este artigo realiza um estudo de caso investigativo para abordar o impacto dos blogs sobre textos reflexivos, práticas de trabalho e gestão de conhecimento. Tendo como base entrevistas com blogueiros, o artigo realiza uma análise das motivações dos blogueiros e o potencial e as limitações dos blogs para setores diferentes da indústria, como por exemplo na academia, dentro de organizações de ajuda humanitária e no entendimento de trabalhadores expatriados de ajuda humanitária. Por fim, o artigo examina a questão relativa a quais vozes são representadas nos blogs.     

Diffusion of Compliance in the ‘Race towards Brussels?’ A Spatial Approach to EU Accession Conditionality

Previous studies identified several determinants that help explain candidate states’ compliance with EU accession conditionality. However, one influence has largely been neglected so far: states’ spatial dependency. Is it possible to observe diffusion to the extent that states’ interlinkages allow their compliance with the acquis communautaire to be assessed? Are candidate states more – or perhaps even less – likely to comply with EU law when other candidates do? The paper seeks to address these questions. By building on existing research on policy diffusion, it develops a theoretical framework for studying candidates’ compliance with EU law over the accession process according to their spatial dependence. The theoretical argument focuses on ‘competitive learning’ and is tested with quantitative data. The results suggest that candidates’ levels of compliance are indeed driven by spatial interlinkages; however, free riding seems more prevalent than enhanced compliance.     

Peacebuilding does not build peace

The concept of peacebuilding is a buzzword of the development policy and practice mainstream. The recent introduction of managerial tools and the focus on measuring the ‘effectiveness’ of peacebuilding have marginalised and depoliticised critical questions about the causes of violent conflict, and have replaced them with comforting notions for donors that peace can be built and measured without challenging Western understanding of economy, governance, and social aspirations of people.     

The Impact of Institutional Coup-Proofing on Coup Attempts and Coup Outcomes

Coup-proofing pertains to political leaders’ strategies that will prevent groups inside or outside the state apparatus from seizing power via a coup d’état. One particular form of these strategies divides a country’s military into rivaling organizations, thereby creating an artificial balance between and structural obstacles for the armed forces. Despite the general claim that this institutional coup-proofing is indeed effective, a recent empirical study does not obtain evidence for a negative impact on the risk of coup attempts or coup outcomes. The authors take this finding as a motivation for their re-evaluation of the effect of institutional coup-proofing on coup risk and outcomes. By developing an argument that rests on the concepts of collective action and polarization, it is contended that institutional coup-proofing and coups are characterized by a U-shaped relationship: Institutional coup-proofing is likely to lower the likelihood of coup onsets and successful outcomes, yet only until a tipping point of about two equally strong military organizations. After this turning point, the risk of coup onset as well as coup success may increase again. Using time-series cross-section data for 1975–1999, the authors find strong and robust support for their claims in terms of coup onset, but not coup outcomes.     

Buying stolen goods: the ambiguity in trading consumer-to-consumer

This study investigates the buying of stolen goods in Denmark. The study consists of a self-report survey based on a representative sample of the general Danish population (n = 2311) and six focus group interviews consisting of both informants experienced with buying stolen goods and of those with no experience (n = 37). The survey showed that 4.8% had bought stolen goods, while 15.7% were uncertain whether they had bought stolen goods. Young people, males, and unemployed were more likely to purchase stolen goods. No clear correlation between income and buying stolen goods was found. Focus groups suggest the buyers of stolen goods did not buy stolen goods because they could not afford legitimate products. We recommend targeting consumers not interested in buying stolen goods with information about how to avoid such activity.     

Amsterdam as a Global City: Restructuring,Identity Rearticulation,and Resistance in the Service Sector

This article explores the interconnections between political‐economic transformations of Amsterdam into a second‐tier global city and the rearticulation of (gender) identities and resistance practices in the service sector. The research focuses on both the high and low ends of the service sector, i.e., banking and cleaning. Given different positionalities of employees in respective sectors, the article shows that their responses to changes in their work environment take on different modalities. Women managers in the banking sector resort to a strategy of “hiding” their gender identity and individualized responses, while Moroccan (male) cleaners tend to underscore the masculine nature of their work and are joining labor unions in greater numbers than before.     

“State ineffectiveness in deterring organized crime style homicide in Mexico: a vicious cycle”

Institutional weaknesses in the criminal justice system (limited court capacity and the increasingly sophisticated armament of splintering drug trafficking organizations) limit the effectivity of Mexican states to deter organized crime style homicide. Court capacity, expressed by increasing sentencing rates in states where the oral court system was institutionalized, remains insufficient against the post-2006 organized crime related homicide epidemic. The illegal arms market, combined with long-standing deficits in firepower between organized crime and municipal police forces, limit the state’s capacity to alter the arms balance toward policing forces. Taken together, limited court capacity and the tactical imbalance of weapons held by drug trafficking organizations create a vicious cycle which continually perpetuates state ineffectiveness to deter and punish organized crime style homicide.

     

Estimating damages from price-fixing: the value of transaction data

We use a unique private data set of about 340,000 invoice positions from 36 smaller and larger customers of German cement producers to study the value of such transaction data for an estimation of cartel damages. In particular, we investigate, first, how structural break analysis can be used to identify the exact end of the cartel agreement and, second, how an application of before-and-after approaches to estimate the price overcharge can benefit from such rich data sets. We conclude that transaction data allows such a detailed assessment of the cartel and its impact on direct customers that its regular application in private antitrust cases is desired as long as data collection and preparation procedures are not prohibitively expensive.