Problem Of Unintended Consequences Research Articles

Book Review: Rethinking Security Governance The problem of unintended consequences

Book Review: Rethinking Security Governance The problem of unintended consequences

The tyranny of research? Urban regeneration, ethnography, and the problem of unintended consequences

Following a case study of community development in public housing in Liverpool, UK, we present in this article three potential tyrannies of research. We show the tyranny of the researcher, of the method selection, and of the data. In so doing, we identify the methodological challenges of conducting research that seeks to privilege the voices and perspectives of the subjects in a participatory project. We examine whether the dangers of tyranny are present in ethnographic and other participatory forms of research as much as in the practice of participatory development. We argue that, by acknowledging the potential tyranny of research, we are able to highlight the importance of a critical and reflexive research practice, particularly for ethnographers working in a participatory context.

The Political Economy of Intervention in the Conflict Against ISIS

Western elites and the general public agree that foreign intervention is needed to halt the dramatic rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Policymakers hope to both militarily defeat ISIS while also resolving the civil crises in Iraq and Syria that allowed the group to flourish. In the economics literature on foreign intervention there is an ongoing debate about whether approaches like those suggested for combating ISIS will be successful. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the conversation about Western intervention against ISIS by considering some of the major challenges to achieving this objective from an economic perspective. Adapting a framework used by economist Christopher Coyne and his co-authors for examining the constraints on foreign intervention, we identify three “problems” that policymakers face: (1) the knowledge problem, (2) the coordination problem, and (3) the problem of unintended consequences. Cases of recent foreign interventions in the Middle East provide evidence for why these problems should be taken seriously when formulating policy toward ISIS. We also explore alternative policy options to foreign intervention.

Book Review: General Politics: Rethinking Security Governance: The Problem of Unintended Consequences

Book Review: General Politics: Rethinking Security Governance: The Problem of Unintended Consequences