Book reviews

Sphinx and Commissar: the rise and fall of Soviet influence in the Arab world. Mohamed Heikal, London: Collins. 1978. 303 pp. £6.95.

Soviet Involvement in the Middle East: policy formulation 1966–1973. Ilana Kass, Folkestone, England: Dawson. 1978. 273 pp. £11.00.

The Limits to Power: Soviet policy in the Middle East. Edited by Yaacov Ro'i, London: Croom Helm. 1979. 376 pp. £10.95.

In the Direction of the Persian Gulf: the Soviet Union and the Persian Gulf. A Yodfat and M Abir, London: Frank Cass. 1977. 167 pp. £8.95.

Moral Claims in World Affairs. Edited by Ralph Pettman, London: Croom Helm. 1979. 199 pp. £8.50.

The United Nations: how it works and what it does. Evan Luard, London: Macmillan. 1979. 187 pp. £8.95.

The International Politics of the Nigerian Civil War, 1967–1970. John J Stremlau, Princeton University Press. 1977. 425 pp. £16.70. £6.25 pb.

The Arms Trade and International Systems. Robert E Harkavy, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ballinger (distributed in the UK by John Wiley).

1975. 288 pp. £11.60.

The Terrorism Reader. Edited by Walter Laqueur, London: Wildwood House. 1979. 291 pp. £7.50.

International Terrorism in the Contemporary World. Edited by Marius H. Livingston et al, London: Greenwood Press. 1978. 522 pp. £24.50.

Cities of Peasants: the political economy of urbanisation in the Third World. Bryan Roberts, London: Edward Arnold. 1978. 207 pp. £4.50pb.

Shelter Provision in the Developing Countries: the influence of standards and criteria. A L Mabogunje, J E Hardoy and R P Misra Chichester, England: John Wiley. 1978. 94 pp. £4.75 pb.

Independence Documents of the World. Edited by A P Blaustein et al. Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications/Leyden: A W Sijthoff. 1977. 2 Vols. 800 pp. $75.00.

Asia's Nuclear Future. Edited by William H Overholt, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. 1978. 285 pp. £11.75.

Commodity Agreements and Price Stabilisation. David McNicol, Lexington, Massachusetts: D C Heath. 1978. 335 pp. £10.00.

Stabilising World Commodity Markets. F Gerald Adams and Sonia A Klein, Lexington, Massachusetts: D C Heath. 1978. 335 pp. £17.50.

National Interests and Presidential Leadership: the setting of priorities. Donald E Nuechterlein, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press (Distributed in the UK by Ernest Benn). 1978. 246 pp. £12.50.

Economics: an introduction to traditional and radical views. E K Hunt and H J Sherman, New York: Harper & Row. 1978. 617 pp. £5.95 pb.

The Alternative in Eastern Europe. Rudolf Bahro (translated by David Fernbach) London: New Left Books. 1978. 463 pp. £9.50.

Africa's International Relations: the diplomacy of dependency and change. Ali A Mazrui, London: Heinemann. 1977. 324 pp. £8.50.

The Foreign Polices of African States.. Edited by Olajide Aluko. London: Hodder & Stoughton. 1977. 249 pp. £4.50.

Drought in Africa 2. Edited by David Dalby et al, London: International African Institute. 1977. 200 pp. £5.00.

Landuse and Development. Edited by Phil O'Keefe and Ben Wisner, London: International African Institute. 1977. 232 pp. £5.25.

The Cyprus Revolt. Nancy Crawshaw, London: Allen & Unwin. 1978. 396 pp. £12.50.

Southeast Asian Transitions: approaches through social history. Edited by Ruth T McVey, Yale University Press. 1978. 242 pp. £12.60.

Elite Politics in an Ideological State: the case of Pakistan. Asaf Hussain, London: Dawson. 1979. 212 pp. £9.00.

Politics and Government in Malaysia. R S Milne and Diane K Mauzy. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. 1978. 406 pp.

Towards Total Revolution: the writings and speeches of Jayaprakash Narayan. Edited by Brahmanand, Richmond, England: Richmond Publishing. 1978. Vols I‐IV. 1145 pp. £35.95.

India: population, economy, society. R H Cassen, London: Macmillan. 1978. 419 pp. £10.00.

Experiments in Family Planning: lessons from the developing world. R Cuca and C S Pierce, London: John Hopkins University Press. 1977. 261 pp. £2.50 pb.

Militarism in Modern China: the career of Wu P'ei‐fu, 1916–1939. Odoric Y K Wou. Canberra: Australian National University Press (distributed in the UK by Dawson). 1978. 346 pp. £12.50.

China's Economy: a basic guide. Christopher Howe, London: Paul Elek. 1978. 248 pp. £7.50.

China and Japan 1949–1976. R K Jain, New Delhi: Radiant Publishers (distributed in the UK by Martin Robertson). 1977. 336 pp. £10.50.

Finding a Voice: Asian women in Britain. Amrit Wilson, London: Virago. 1978. 179 pp. £2.50.

Role of Rural Women in Development. Report of an international seminar held at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, 5 January‐10 February 1977. Edited by Vira Mazumdar, Delhi: Indian Council of Social Science Research. 1978. 125 pp. £3.00.

International Perspectives in Rural Sociology. Edited by Howard Newby, Chichester, England: John Wiley. 1978. 220pp. £10.95.     

Beyond the merchant and the clergyman: assessing moral claims about development cooperation

This article proposes to move beyond the categories of altruism and self-interest in the analyses of the motives for development cooperation. This opposition ignores the inherently moral nature of development policy. The article illustrates the shortcomings of such a perspective by tracing the metaphor of the merchant and the clergyman as archetypical figures shaping Dutch development policy. Through these images the suggestion of an opposition between moral and amoral motives in the history of development has gained a strong foothold within the interplay of scholars, policy makers and public opinion. We go on to assess claims about economy, security, solidarity, prestige and guilt, and ecology, which have been brought forward to legitimise Dutch foreign aid. This analysis calls for research on the dynamics of the transnational exchanges of ideas, interests and expectations, especially during episodes when the moral validity of policy has been explicitly contested.     

Explaining China’s popularity in the Middle East and Africa

Abstract

China enjoys considerable popularity in the Middle East and Africa, not only among elites but also at street level. This article draws on international relations theories to explain this general pattern, as well as intra- and interregional variation. Every approach has something to contribute, but international political economy more so than realism. Constructivist theories are particularly useful in explaining China’s popularity in the Middle East and Africa.     

Observing FDI spillover transmission channels: evidence from firms in Uganda

Abstract

We observe and analyse three intra-industry foreign direct investment (FDI) spillover transmission channels using unique firm-level data collected from on-site interviews and observations regarding domestic and foreign firms operating in Uganda in 2015. Our main results are: (1) the spillover effects mainly depend on the channel(s) by which they occur (the competition channel is most important while spillover benefits through the worker mobility and the imitation channels are less prevalent) and (2) both positive and negative spillover effects occur within the same channel and, moreover, effects differ by channel for the same case. These are novel and challenging findings that have not yet been recognised in theoretical and empirical research on FDI spillovers. Our results suggest that long-term pecuniary spillover effects are predominantly stimulated via the competition channel and show that only limited short-term and long-term technological spillover effects occur through the imitation and the movement of workers channels. These channels are not only less prevalent, but also appear to be constrained by competition-determined spillovers. We are confident that these directions for future research will have a high pay-off because, as shown by this exploratory fieldwork, a more complete picture of the spillover effects is reached when the channels are considered simultaneously.     

Feature reviews

Portraits of Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro: Nothing Can Stop the Course of History. Edited by Jeffrey M Elliott and Mervyn M Dymally. New York: Pathfinder Press. 1986. 258pp. £5.75pb

Fidel and Religion: Castro Talks on Revolution and Religion with Frei Betto. Frei Betto. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1987. 314pp. $19.95hb

Fidel: A Critical Portrait. Tad Szulc. London: Century Hutchinson. 1987. 585pp. £14.95hb. New York: William Morrow. 1986. 703pp. $19.95hb

Castro. Peter Bourne. London: Macmillan. 1986. 332pp. £14.95hb

Kwame Nkrumah and African liberation

The Closest of Enemies: A Personal and Diplomatic History of the Castro Years. Wayne S Smith. New York: W W Norton. 1987. 308pp. $19.95hb

The Rise and Fall of Kwame Nkrumah: A Study of Personal Rule in Africa. Henry L Bretton. London: Pall Mall Press. 1967. 232pp. n/p

Black Star: A View of the Life and Times of Kwame Nkrumah. Basil Davidson. London: Allen Lane. 1973. 225pp. n/p

Ghana's First Republic 1960–1966. Trevor Jones. London: Methuen. 1976. 366pp. £3.95pb

The likelihood of coups.

The Likelihood of Coups. Rosemary H T O'Kane. Aldershot, England: Avebury. 1987. 162pp. £18.50hb

The Iran‐Contra Affair

The Iran‐Contra Connection: Secret Teams and Covert Operations in the Reagan Era. Jonathan Marshall, Peter Dale Scott and Jane Hunter. Boston, Massachusetts: South End Press. 1987. 313pp. $11.00pb

The Tower Commission Report: The Full Text of the President's Special Review Board. John Tower, Edmund Muskie and Brent Scowcroft. New York: Bantam Books and Times Books (distributed in the UK by. Transworld). 1987. 550pp. £4.95pb

Perspectives on terrorism

Terrorism, Ideology and Revolution: The Origins of Modern Political Violence. Edited by Noel O'Sullivan. Brighton, England: Harvester. 1986. 224pp. n/p

Terrorism and the Liberal State. Paul Wilkinson. London: Macmillan Educational. 1986. 322pp. £20.00hb/£7.95pb

Terrorism: How the West Can Win. Edited by Benjamin Netanyahu. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson. 1986. 239pp. £14.95hb

Terrorism and International Order. Lawrence Freedman, Christopher Hill, Adam Roberts, RJ Vincent, Paul Wilkinson and Philip Windsor. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul for Royal Institute for International Affairs. 1986. 111pp. £5.95pb

Holy Terror: The Inside Story of Islamic Terrorism. Amir Taheri. London: Century Hutchinson. 1987. 301pp. £12.95hb

Invisible Annies: Terrorism into the 1990s. Stephan Segaller. London: Michael Joseph. 1986. 311pp. £15.95hb

Food, famine and future prospects for Africa

World Hunger: Twelve Myths. Frances Moore Lappé and J Collins. New York: Grove Press for Food First. 1986. 208pp. $7.95pb

World Recession and the Food Crisis in Africa. Edited by Peter Lawrence. London: James Currey/African Review of Political Economy. 1986. 314pp. £25.00hb/£9.95pb

Food in Sub‐Saharan Africa. Edited by Art Hansen and Delia E McMillan London: Frances Pinter. 1986. 410pp. £30.00hb

Drought and Aid in the Sahel: A Decade of Development Cooperation. Carolyn M Somerville. Boulder, Colorado: Westview. 1986. 306pp. n/p

Rural Vulnerability to Famine in Ethiopia, 1958–77. Mesfin Wolde Mariam. London: Intermediate Technology Publications. 1986. 191pp. £7.95pb

The Ethiopian Famine. Kurt Jansson, Michael Harris and Angela Penrose London: Zed. 1987. 196pp. £25.95hb/£6.95pb

South African history

South Africa: A Modern History. T R H Davenport. London: Macmillan. 1987 (third edition). 692pp. £45.00hb/£16.95pb.

History of Southern Africa. J D Omer‐Cooper. London: James Currey. 1987. 298pp. £25.00hb/£9.95pb

Hidden Struggles in Rural South Africa: Politics and Popular Movements in the Transkei and Eastern Cape 1890–1930. William Beinart and Colin Bundy. London: James Currey. 1987. 326pp. £25.00hb/£9.95pb

Rural Transformations in Industrialising South Africa: The Southern Highveld to 1914. Timothy J Keegan. London: Macmillan. 1987. 302pp. £29.50hb

Our common environmental future

Environment and Development. Peter Bartelmus. London: Allen and Unwin, 1986. 96pp. £5.95pb

Our Common Future. The World Commission on Environment and Development Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1987. 383pp. £5.95pb

Learning from China? Development and Environment in Third World Countries. Edited by Bernhard Glaeser. London: Allen and Unwin. 1987. 282pp. £30.00hb     

Book review

David V. Nowlin and Ronald J. Stupak. War as an instrument of policy: past, present, and future. university press of America, Lanham, MD, 1998.     

Make and Buy—An Alternative to Make or Buy? An Investigation of Four Theoretical Explanations in Danish Municipalities

The question of whether public organizations should provide services themselves or buy them from external suppliers has become increasingly relevant due to public-sector modernization. The literature has focused on it as a question of either make or buy. Contrarily, we focus on the reasons for public organizations to simultaneously produce and contract out similar services. The article investigates different theoretical explanations for concurrent make and buy. A survey of Danish municipalities shows that make and buy seems to be a steady choice. However, the results show little support for the theoretical explanations indicating the need for more public-oriented explanations.