Currently Reading:
UNHCR: The policy and practice of refugee protection into the twenty-first century by G. Loescher, A. Betts, J. Milner
On the Shelf:
Human Rights and Global Diversity by Robert Paul Churchill
Classical and Modern Thought on International Relations by Robert Jackson
This is a fantastic book for anyone looking to expand their knowledge about the theories and practices used to study international relations. This book is a collection of essays and is deeply rooted in classical thought. It does a great job at covering everything from idealism to realism. I'd recommend it for anyone interested in creating a solid foundation on which to study international thought.
Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo
I thought this was an 'in your face' type of book. I didn't have to guess how Moyo really felt. The main point of this book is that aid in general has done more harm than good for Africa. She argues that the $1 trillion in development related aid over the past past fifty years has actually made the people of Africa worse off than before. She even goes so far to claim that aid itself is the cause of poverty.
It's obvious that Moyo, who was born in Zambia, is more than frustrated with our current model of aid and actually pretty pissed off about the whole thing. She basically relates aid to a disease, something that completely stifles any type of actual development. She says that poverty levels are only rising, even with aid continuing to flow in day after day.
This book really made me stop and question what aid really is and why it is so ineffective. If $1 trillion dollars can't 'fix' Africa, then what in the hell can?
I think it's about time we stop funneling money into Africa and start letting the Africans themselves take the reins. While Moyo is a little too extreme in her view of aid, she does have some good points here and it's definitely worth the read.
Inside the Jihad by Omar Nasiri
Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
Darfur Diaries by Aisha Bain, Jen Marlowe and Adam Shapiro
We Wish to Inform you that Tomorrow we will be killed by our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch
Darfur: A short history of a long war by Julie Flint and Alex De Waal
28 Stories of Aids in Africa by Stephanie Nolen
