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Overview

Dr Graham Harrison

Associate Professor of International Political Economy


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Associate Professor of International Political Economy in the School of Government and International Affairs

Biography

Graham completed his PhD in 1999. After further fieldwork, he published ‘The Politics of Democratisation in Rural Mozambique’ which explored the ways in which multi-party democracy was embedded in rural zones of northern Mozambique. He went on the visit Mozambique regularly, publishing on the political economy of liberalisation and corruption.

In 2003, Graham explored the impact of the World Bank on aid-dependent states, focusing on Tanzania and Uganda. The main outcome of this was the book ‘The World Bank and Africa: The Construction of Governance States’. His interest in neoliberalism as a mode of intervention that constructs political relations was generalised out into the book ‘Neoliberal Africa: The Impact of Global Social Engineering’. This included further fieldwork into northern Tanzania’s local governance.

From 2010, Graham’s work moved into a more historical focus on the ways in which Africa has been represented in British public culture. This began with a case study of Make Poverty History and subsequently produced the book ‘The African Presence: Representations of Africa in the Construction of Britishness’. He has also published on UK party policy in relation to Africa.

From 2016, Graham has been interested in the normative aspects of economic development. This interest began with research in Rwanda, a case of rapid economic growth accompanied by controversy in relation to human rights and democracy. This produced three articles and fed into a larger book project. The book ‘Developmentalism: The Normative and the Transformative’ will be published by Oxford University Press in summer 2020.

Graham moved to Durham University in 2019 and is currently developing new research on political theory and African politics and development policy.

 

Graham has been lecturing for 25 years and is excited to be developing a range of new activities in his new post. His teaching interests revolve around global political economy, especially in relation to development and post-colonial states. He is currently developing teaching in three areas: the political economy of poverty, empire, and global governance.

Publications

Authored book

Journal Article