Social Research and Policy in the Development

Arena
Critical Encounters
Martin Doornbos
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Martin Doornbos is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the International
Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands. His research interests have
focused on the dynamics of state-society relations in Africa and India, the politics of
resource allocation, and on questions of state collapse and post-conflict
reconstruction.
'Professor Doornbos' book is an urgent read for both scholars of the development process
and its in-the-field practitioners. Doornbos has worked extensively at the intersection of
academic research and applied project implementation. Few scholars, if any, are as qualified
to reflect on what happens when academic theory collides with the reality of a developing
environment whose many realities may include inflexibility of policy, political rivalry,
bureaucratic inertia and ethnic tensions. His book is an invaluable treatise on which
academic ideas have a survival value and as a guidebook for the practitioner preparing to
meet the real world of development practice.' - Michael F. Lofchie, UCLA, USA
EADI Global Development Series
Hardback 9781137548511
Oct 2015 68.00 48.00
$105.00 $73.50
248 pp

216 mm x 138 mm

CONTENTS
Introduction
1. The Research-Policy Nexus: Multiple
Encounters, Multiple Frictions
2. Conceptualizing African statehood
and legitimacy: shifting positions in the
research-politics nexus
3. A 'Negotiating Statehood'
Perspective: Implications for Policy?
4. Research-led Policy Deliberation in
Post-conflict Contexts: Searching to
Overcome Institutional Gaps
5. Complex emergencies, food security
and the need for research-based policy
responses
6. The Limits of Independent Policy
Research: Analysing the EECIndia
Dairy Aid Nexus; with Piet Terhal
7. AcademiaPolitics Collisions in the
Aftermath of a Coup: a Fijian Encounter
8. Reconnoitring a Political Microcosm:
First Fieldwork in Ankole, Uganda
9. Researching Development Policy and
Politics: A Personal Retrospect and
Itinerary
Conclusion: development studies in
retrospect
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'Professor Doornbos shares with us insights acquired from years of critical social and
political research in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Failed states, complex emergencies, postconflict recovery and the provision of food security indicate the complex developmental
and humanitarian themes that are dealt with scrutinized in environments in which a
multitude of local, national and international/multilateral actors are involved, representing
different, often competing and conflicting perceptions and interests. Add to this research
into statehood building and legitimacy in the most challenging social, economic and
political environments. This tour de force provides the reader with unique insights into the
many challenges involved in development and in dilemmas related to the developmentresearch nexus. Scholars and practitioners will want this book easily available in their
bookshelves.' Olav Stokke, Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway
About the book
The author analyzes the research-policy nexus in development studies, highlighting
reciprocal orientations and interactions between the domains of social research and of
policy and politics. The study deals with instances where these domains are complementary
and geared towards common objectives, but also with others marked by opposing premises.
The underlying idea is not to arrive at any 'one best formula', as the interests and objectives
of research and researchers on the one hand, and those of politics and policy-makers on the
other, are often vastly different and based on contrasting rationales. Instead, Martin
Doornbos aims at illustrating potential sources of tension between these respective spheres,
tracing the silent battles waged between them while also recognizing instances where
research has played a meaningful role vis--vis policy - for instance, in bridging
informational gaps towards policy deliberation or in assessing policy outcomes. This book
therefore seeks to provide a better understanding of the conditions determining conflict and
cooperation between policy and social research.

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