Development Archives - The Counterfactual

Environment and conflict in Sudan

By Clive Bates / 20 December 2007 / 1 Comment / Other policy

I’ve moved to the Sudan… and I’m sitting under a fan in Khartoum writing this… I’ve now been here a […]

There is something stunning in the brilliance of Google Earth [download] – a streaming map of the world in the

Saw Blood Diamond – an action-movie-with-a-message, though laced with clichés (mercenary with a heart of gold, pouting female journalist as

By Clive Bates / 25 December 2006 / 2 Comments / Other policy

My favourite Xmas present this year is a beautiful shyrdak (actual one pictured) from Kyrgyzistan. A shyrdak is a felt

By Clive Bates / 17 December 2006 / 1 Comment / Other policy

I fear it was a terrible move to axe the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into the Al Yamamah (“the

By Clive Bates / 3 August 2006 / 2 Comments / Other policy

Attended a stimulating session today on “Global Public Goods” (FAQ) run by the ubiquitous penseurs of globalisation, E3G. The idea

By Clive Bates / 3 July 2006 / 3 Comments / Other policy

In theory, it would be good to prioritise resources for global do-gooding by asking what is the best use of

What is the opposite of ‘common sense’? ‘Stupid’ could be right. Or ‘arbitrary’. But one opposite might also be ‘principled’…

As a call to arms, you can’t beat the first target in the first of the Millennium Development Goals …

By Clive Bates / 3 June 2006 / 3 Comments / Other policy

A session with Her Majesty’s Treasury yesterday reminded me that one of the most startling things is just how big