April 06, 2017

Understanding how change happens - Duncan Green

1 hour 5 minutes

Human society is full of would-be ‘change agents’. A restless mix of

campaigners, lobbyists, and officials, both individuals and organisations, are set on transforming the world. They want to improve public services, reform laws and regulations, guarantee human rights, get a fairer deal for those on the sharp end, achieve greater recognition for any number of issues, or simply be treated with respect. Scholarly discussions of change are fragmented with

few conversations crossing disciplinary boundaries, rarely making it onto the radars of those actively seeking change.

Duncan Green’s new book 'How Change Happens', bridges the gap between academia and practice. It brings together the best research from a range of academic disciplines and the evolving practical understanding of activists to explore the topic of social and political change. Drawing on many first-hand examples from the global experience of Oxfam, as well as the author’s insights from studying and working on international development, it tests ideas on

how change happens and offers the latest thinking on what works to achieve progressive change.

In this podcast, Duncan launches the book 'How Change Happens'.

The event was co-presented by the Development Policy Centre, the State, Society & Governance in Melanesia Program and the Research for Development Impact Network and the Development Leadership Program.

Dr Duncan Green is Oxfam Great Britain’s Senior Strategic Adviser. He also teaches on international development at the London School of Economics, where he is a Professor in Practice. He has published two books, From Poverty to Power and How Change Happens.

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