We're Back

Kurtis has completed two semesters and is into his third in Waterloo and I have completed two terms in Manchester and I’m now starting to work on my dissertation, due on September 5.

We’re both looking forward to getting stuck back into this blog and we hope we haven’t lost our faithful readers along the way.

Leaving our discussion of value frameworks for the moment (although I’m sure that topic will surface again in the posts to come) we will turn to the topic of my dissertation for 6 consecutive posts.  I will offer three posts and Kurtis will respond in a separate post to each of them.  Following those posts, we will shift focus to sustainability, particularly as it pertains to those of us living in OECD countries – those of us consuming –non-renewable resources faster than anyone else, at topic that Kurt is thinking and learning about.

I’m still fine-tuning the topic of my dissertation.  But roughly, I will attempt an analysis of a particular set of development projects ongoing along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. I will look at the project design, plans and implementation, especially in the context of the regional conflict and, in the broader context of the War on Terror and the current development category of fragile states.  In my next three posts, I will first introduce the concept of fragile states (look for that post tomorrow).  Then I will look at the securitisation of development with respect to fragile states theory.  Finally, I will look at theories of development planning in the context of fragile states.  Along the way I’ll offer my two cents on Osama bin Laden’s killing, Three Cups of Tea and Greg Mortenson and a topic on the tips of all your tongues: liberalism’s external sovereignty frontier.