Books / Livres

Democratic Struggles in Challenging Times: Insights from Mongolia and Around the World (2021)

Edited by Christian Suter, Stephen Brown, Dolgion Aldar and Tamir Chultemsuren

Download a free PDF of the entire book here (4 MB).

Download a free PDF of the Mongolian version, Ардчиллын тэмцэл сорилтын жилүүдэд: Монгол ба Дэлхийн улс орнууд туршлагажиж эхэлсэн нь (2022), here (4 MB).

 

 


 

Second Edition coverRethinking Canadian Aid, Second Edition (2016)

Edited by Stephen Brown, Molly den Heyer and David R. Black

This revised edition not only analyzes Canada’s past development assistance, it also highlights important new opportunities in the context of the recent change in government. Designed to reach a variety of audiences, contributions by twenty scholars and experts in the field offer an incisive examination of Canada’s record and initiatives in Canadian foreign aid, including its relatively recent emphasis on maternal and child health and on the extractive sector, as well as the longer-term engagement with state fragility.

Download a free PDF of the entire book here (7 MB).

The first edition was named one of the Hill Times’s best political books of 2015.

« Rethinking Canadian Aid s’impose non seulement comme une lecture obligatoire pour ceux et celles qui s’intéressent à la transformation du rôle du Canada en matière de développement international, mais également aux débats portant sur les changements propres à l’ère Harper. Considérant aussi le fait que ce livre soit en libre accès sur Internet […], nous ne pouvons que saluer cette brillante initiative qui en fait un ouvrage véritablement incontournable. »
Politique et Sociétés

“strongly recommended […] and excellent additions to one’s library”
—Canadian Journal of Development Studies

“a valuable counterpoint to the claims—especially during the Harper government—that Canada has been a global leader in aid. […] Let us hope that in demonstrating how Canada is back, the government […] develops and implements development cooperation policies and strategies drawing from the thoughtful, useful perspectives set out in Rethinking Canadian Aid.”
—International Journal


The Securitization of Foreign AidThe Securitization of Foreign Aid (2016)

Edited by Stephen Brown and Jörn Grävingholt

Since the end of the Cold War and especially following 9/11, security concerns have increasingly influenced foreign aid: how Western countries give aid, to whom and why. With contributions from a wide range of experts in the field, this book examines the impact of security issues on six of the world’s largest aid donors, as well as on key crosscutting issues such as gender equality and climate change. Each chapter in this volume finds important evidence of securitization, though to varying degrees. In some cases, securitization does not appear problematic, whiles others suggest that security considerations have perverted the fundamental purpose of aid, which is to fight poverty and inequality, and have reoriented it towards greater donor self-interest. The conclusion provides recommendations that could help limit the extent of securitization for the benefit of poor and vulnerable people and prevent aid’s inefficient redirection to less benevolent, short-term goals.

“The volume takes a balanced view of the rationales and implications of securitization, avoiding the broad condemnations that have often been associated with the trend. […] The chapters covering specific countries provide sophisticated analysis on how the priority of security concerns has altered the power balance among [aid] agencies. […] The chapters take a nuanced approach regarding the implications of securitization. […] This is a very solid and insightful collection […] It is rare to find a volume with a balanced treatment of both doctrines and the policy processes to execute those doctrines.”
Perspectives on Politics


Struggling for EffectivenessStruggling for Effectiveness: CIDA and Canadian Foreign Aid (2012)

Edited by Stephen Brown

A critical and constructive examination of Canada’s assistance to developing countries

One of Embassy’s ten featured books of 2012.

Struggling for Effectiveness is a major and valuable contribution to knowledge about CIDA and Canada’s official development assistance policies. Without exception the authors have produced chapters of a consistently high quality”
—Hevina Dashwood, Brock University

Struggling for Effectiveness is undoubtedly an important contribution to the literature on Canadian foreign aid”
International Journal

“the book represents a useful contribution to ongoing policy debates”
—CIDA President Margaret Biggs in a memorandum to Minister of International Cooperation Julian Fantino. Read the full internal CIDA background memo on the book here (PDF, 8 pages, obtained via ATIP).