Update on my activities

At the present I am busy putting the finishing touches to book that is mainly based on the articles that I have published on this website. The book is being edited in collaboration with Professor Robert Geyer from Lancaster University.  We are hoping to hand the manuscript to the published in late Spring 2008.

On a personal note: my eldest sister finally admitted defeat: she packed her belongings in a few suitcases and left Iraq in early-July 2005. Three of my sisters tolerated the long Saddam years, the punishing UN imposed sanctions, and the first year or two of the occupation. One sister sadly died, and the other left Iraq soon after. The last to leave thought she could withstand the trigger-happy occupying forces, the madcap efforts of the 'insurgents', and the clueless so-called 'democratically elected' government of Iraq. Insecurity was always the main concern, but no water in Baghdad's 50 centigrade heat finally tipped the scales. She joined the 2 to 4 million people who have fled from Bush and Blair's 'freedom and democracy'. 

With her departure I now have no one of my immediate family left in Iraq. This prompted me to make a start on a book that I have had in mind for some time. The working title is, somewhat inevitable, 'Farewell to Iraq'. 

University lecturing, work in the NHS as a non-executive director, and other activities associated with human development keep me rather busy. This would explain why I have not managed to write as many articles as I had hoped. Many apologies to those who enjoyed, and those who were exasperated by, the articles.  

I participated in preparations for a major complexity conference scheduled for September, 2005 (See http://www.liv.ac.uk/ccr/2005_conf/ ).

Reflecting the growing interest in the Middle East, I was invited to give a  number of lectures as part of the International Political Economy module at the School of Politics, University of Liverpool. The lectures took place during April 2005 and were well received. 

I was invited take part in a PhD seminar at the International Development Studies department, Roskilde University in Denmark in late October 2003. I was also invited to give a lecture to staff and students working on development issues at the Copenhagen Business School, Department of Intercultural Communication and Management, during my visit. 

Feasta (the Dublin based foundation for the economics of sustainability, see www.feasta.org) held its 2003 Summer course in association with the Worldwide Democracy Network (see www.wwdemocracy.org) on the theme of "Exploring a whole systems approach to sustainability". My contributions at the event are available on Feasta/ WDN. 

I was unable to attend the Feasta/ WDN 2004 course, but I sent two presentations (Political Legitimacy and Reclaiming Power) to be read and discussed in my absence. 

I was invited to present a paper at the World Conference on Dialogue Among Civilisations (23-26 April, 2003) held in Poland, Warsaw. The organisers were  the Polish Asia Pacific Council Association and the Polish National Commission for UNESCO. 

The title for my paper was: Time for a Paradigm Change: Development as a Complex Adaptive System. (The full text of the paper is available in WORLD CONFERENCE IN POLAND.doc.)

In discussions with some of the delegates and by listening to a selection of the papers, I gained the impression (and it can only be a subjective impression) that there was general agreement on two fronts. First, there was concern about the state of democracy within the leading nations. The 'revolving door' between business and politics has compromised good governance in both spheres. Business leaders have lost their independence and their focus on the affairs of their businesses and  stockholders. At the same time, political leaders have lost their dedication to the 'public good' and their duty to serve society as a whole. This confusion in objectives and values is clearly evident in the USA, and its government's increasingly erratic actions.

Second, there was general agreement that the 'Washington consensus' has now forfeited all measure of support and is now a defunct framework for the study and practice of development. The 'consensus' focuses on the liberal economic policies dictated by the US elite and the global agencies they control, and on the punitive structural adjustment and stabilisation measures they impose on the so-called developing countries.

The conference was a successful and thought-provoking event. The above two features merit further and closer scrutiny. They might seem to be straws in the wind at present, but they could clarify much of what is taking place in the world around us.

Please read the full text of the paper in WORLD CONFERENCE IN POLAND.doc.

My book on Complex Systems Theory and Development Practice (see leaflet in Book) was published in September 2002 by Zed Books.