Dissertation and Monty Python.

These days I spend much time working on my dissertation. The reason is that by the end of next month our dissertation proposals have to be handed in. By now I have a topic and a very preliminary draft; I hope to post it here by the end of the week after another solid revision.

Thus, in upcoming weeks I will bother lots of professors and policy makers for comments. For the same reason I also present the draft at different occasions; Columbia's CP workshop, IGERT's International Development and Globalization meeting, and the PhD dissertation seminar. The best motivators, however, are my friends in the cohort for two reasons. (1) Four months ago we signed a post-dated check of 200 US$, which we then gave to a third-party enforcer. If a person now does not hand in his/her proposal that person's money is cashed, given to the group who will subsequently spend it on dinner, drinking or holiday. The loser is not allowed to join. (2) We spend lots of time reading and discussing each others proposals. Last Friday, for example, I spent 3 hours with a colleague who had read through my proposal. Because we are all good friends we can (and will) say whatever we think and really try hard to shoot holes in each others' proposals.

My dissertation partly deals with local governance. Of course, one has to be aware of one topic's classical works, so hereby. One more executive power oriented:

And one more judicial power oriented:

Snow. Great day ahead.

Completely to the right (where the light is on) is my building.

Columbia is closed because of heavy snowfall. As a result, a meeting at 9am, my dissertation seminar (10-1130am), a CSDS get together (12-2pm), and a meeting at 4pm are cancelled. So I just made myself a cup of tea and have a great day ahead:

• With help from DFID, 3ie and IRC we are going to implement a very interesting behavioral measure in Eastern Congo (more on that later), and today I have to work on that.
• Macartan is teaching game theory and today I've to transfer some slides from Powerpoint into Beamer.
• Voix des Kivus (VdK) is expanding from four up to 100 villages throughout Sud Kivu, and today I will finish the computer code that randomly selects these new villages.
• Today I will also write the contracts for our VdK field and technical coordinator.
• And the icing on the cake: This evening we're going to watch The Tempest.

On fieldwork.

I am clearly doing the wrong type. Please visit this link to read the whole article in the New Yorker.

Collapse Dutch government(s).

Just a few hours ago my government fell; it collapsed over disagreements on extending troop deployments in Afghanistan. Yes, a Dutch government fell yet again.

• June 2006: the government falls after one of the governing parties withdrew its support for the coalition in the aftermath of the upheaval about the asylum procedure of Ayaan Hirsi Ali (instigated by the Dutch immigration minister Verdonk);
• October 2002: the government falls after two ministers from one of the ruling parties (the LPF, founded by the maverick right-winger Pim Fortuyn) quit over a long-running personal feud. Their departure was not enough to salvage the divided three-party coalition;
• April 2002: the government falls after a report on the 1995 fall of Srebrenica held political leaders partly responsible for failing to protect Muslims in a UN safe 'haven' in Bosnia;
• May 1999: the government falls after the loss, in the upper house of Parliament, of a bill implementing constitutional changes (D66 had proposed that voters should be able to veto legislation through referendums).

Why? Is the Dutch many-party system conducive to government collapse? Most of the Dutch governments have consisted of at least 3 parties; and more parties means more possible diads for diasagreement.

But it is the Netherlands!? One could argue that - in contrast to many developing countries - we do not face issues that are important enough for a government to collapse. Or is this exactly it? That is, the Netherlands is so stable and it's institutions next to our elected executive are so well established that the collapse of the government does not lead to an increase of our debt's interest rate, a drop in GDP, or the outbreak of civil war. In other words the cost of a government collapse in the Netherlands is low. Consequently, a government collapse is therefore more likely to occur in the Netherlands. Who will say. For now I am just afraid for the election to come with right-wing Geert Wilders (unfortunately) going strong.

Coding in the Congo.

Later this evening I leave from Schiphol to Bukavu for a month of field work in the Democratic Republic of Congo. That is, Amsterdam -> Nairobi, Nairobi -> Kigali, staying over one night in Rwanda, Kigali -> Kamembe, and then by 4x4 crossing the Rwanda - DRC border.

As many of you know I kept a blog when I was in the DRC last summer. I will do the same thing now. For upcoming month I will therefore not post here but at Coding in the Congo.

Austria vs Congo, books, TV5 Monde.

I was in Austria a week ago. Many Austrians drive really big cars, live in well-kept buildings, etc. Why? Those high mountains are perfect for rebel groups to hide from the government, and it must be/ must have been very difficult for the government to project power. Why do Austrians living in isolated houses at the top of mountains far away from military and police sleep without worries, while people in the Congo (or in Africa for that matter) do not? Why is Austria developed and peaceful, and the Congo not? Sure, I can give a laundry list. But it did struck me.

When in France and Austria I did not have too much time to read. I did read something:

• Poisoned Wells: The Dirty Politics of African Oil is a good book written by Nicholas Shaxson's who - after working for many years in Africa - discusses how oil is hurting the African continent. Especially France get's its ass kicked.
• Frederick Forsyth’s Dogs of War's is a novel set in imaginary Zangaro where richness are found in the Crystal Mountains. Interestingly, and probably not by accident, the latter is also a range of mountains that the Congo River has coursed its way through (located approximately 200 miles east of the Atlantic coast).
• Already mentioned in a previous post, but Adam Hochchild’s King Leopold’s Ghost is a fantastic book.
• Allah N'est Pas Oblige by Ahmadou Kourouma - a book I got from my supervisor already a while ago in order to learn French - is a first-person narrative by a West African child soldier who recounts his experiences in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Nice book.
• I also bought Deception Point by Dan Brown and Foundation 2 by Isaac Azimov in French, I started the first.

Talking about French; I am now going to say something positive about France. TV5 Monde has a webpage called "Apprendre le français", which gives not only the newsvideos, but also their transcript, several games, etc. A great tool to study the language.

Rene Lemarchand and Les Larmes du Soleil.

Rene Lemarchand

Chris Blattman linked to a review written by Alex Engwete (who btw keeps a very interesting blog) about René Lemarchand’s new book “The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa”. Lemarchand is a ‘biggy’ when it comes to research on Africa; being especially a specialist on the Great Lakes Region.

Les Larmes du Soleil

Some days ago I watched Les Larmes du Soleil. Sounds interesting, but it is nothing more than “Tears of the Sun” in English (while in France I bought some movies to keep my French up). It is a bad Hollywood movie about Africa in which Bruce Willis is a good old American-style hero. He is a US soldier sent to Nigeria to get an American citizen during a period in which the country falls into chaos after a bloody coup. Of course, Bruce Willis not only brings back this gorgeous-looking American lady, but in the meantime he also saves the lives of countless civilians including the son of the late president and the last in the royal bloodline of the Igbo people. However, despite all this there is one thing that sticks with me (paraphrasing):

Nigerian to Bruce Willis: “May God be with you”
Bruce Willis: “God already left Africa”