Stein Sundstøl Eriksen

Disaster Management in a Crisis State: Dealing With the Corona Crisis in Zimbabwe

Denne artikkelen diskuterer hvordan Zimbabwe har håndtert korona-pandemien. Først beskrives utviklingen av pandemien i landet og myndighetenes respons på den. Deretter diskuterer jeg hvordan responsen på krisen er formet av statens og regimets karakter, med fokus på statens kapasitet og legitimitet. Til slutt diskuterer jeg mulige politiske konsekvenser av pandemien.

China, India and the political economy of medical supplies

• The pandemic and lockdowns threaten the supply of medicines, especially from India • Poor countries relying on supplies of cheap Indian medicines are especially vulnerable • New medicines and vaccines are likely to be developed and patented by Western companies and will be expensive. • Norway should help fund the supply of medicines and promote reforms of patent rules to make medicines more affordable

Kapitalisme i øst og vest: Vivek Chibber, Subaltern Studies og universalismens nødvendiget

Artikkelen diskuterer den indiske debatten om universalisme, eurosentrisme og postkolonialisme, med utgangspunkt i Vivek Chibbers kritikk av Subaltern-skolen. Den argumenterer for at Chibber langt på vei har rett i sin kritikk, og slutter seg til hans forsvar for en betinget universalisme. Samtidig kritiseres enkelte elementer av hans alternative tilnærming, ikke minst hans forsvar for rational choice teori.

The Fisheries Sector in Ghana: A Political Economy Analysis

The Uses of Comparisons: A Critical Review of Approaches to Comparisons in Development Studies

This article discusses different forms of comparisons in development studies and some of the justifications that are used for making them. The main questions I discuss are the following: First, how are comparisons used in development studies? Second, how should comparisons be carried out? I distinguish between two main forms of comparisons. First; there are what I call asymmetrical comparisons, where one compares a case to an exemplar or model. In development studies, this form of comparison usually takes the form of comparing a given phenomenon in the West with instances of the same phenomenon in countries outside the West (the state, the economy, the family structure, etc.). The aim of the comparison is to understand the non-Western case, while the Western case is used as a means to reach such understanding. Second, there are what I call symmetrical comparisons, where the cases compared are given equal treatment, and where the aim of the comparison is to reach a better understanding of all the cases included in the study. The article discusses three different forms of symmetrical comparisons: comparisons-as-quasi-experiments, interpretive comparisons and comparative historical analysis, and concludes that symmetrical comparisons based on comparative historical analysis are the best approach to comparative studies.

Somalia: A Political Economy Analysis

Somalia has been without a central authority for more than a quarter century. An entire generation is growing up without experiencing stability and security, basic human rights, and economic prosperity. There is no functioning central government with authority over the entire country, extreme weather impacts the country unmitigated, and social challenges such as corruption are rampant. This bears several risks, such as support for radical Islamist groups, such as Al-Shabaab, posing a threat to domestic and international security, or a brain drain with large number of people fleeing the instability and conflict in Somalia. Informal governance actors, formal local authorities, and the private sector have filled the gaps in providing security, education, and health services. Yet, powerful formal and informal, national as well as international actors have vested interests in a weak state or governance failure, with conflict and instability becoming self-perpetuating. This political economy analysis sheds light on the actors, their interests, and power relationships, thus providing a better understanding of these arrangements and their relation with the wider state-building efforts.