Governance Uncovered

In this episode, we welcome Steve Monroe to discuss his newest book, Mirages of Reform: The Politics of Elite Protectionism in the Arab World (Cornell University Press, 2025). Together, Steve and Ellen examine how elites across the Arab world maintain economic privileges despite apparent trade liberalization.Steve sheds light on how conventional measures of economic reform often miss the real story. While many Arab nations adopted neoliberal policies on paper, he demonstrates how "neo-patrimonial protectionism" allowed well-connected elites to preserve their advantages through informal mechanisms, like preferential procurement and insider access.Through detailed case studies and quantitative evidence, Steve illuminates the critical gap between formal policy changes and practical implementation, challenging our understanding of economic reform and highlighting how social connections fundamentally shape who benefits from liberalization efforts in the region.Steve argues that geopolitics and social connections between state and capital underpin the Arab world's uneven trade policies. Drawing on interviews, firm- and industry-level data, and evidence from Jordan to Morocco, Mirages of Reform reveals how international and domestic factors interact to shape the Arab world's rugged trade policy terrain. Insightful and well researched, this book imparts important lessons and warnings about the repercussions of economic reform in the region.Full podcast transcript can be found here.

Governance Uncovered is brought to you by the Governance and Local Development Institute at the University of Gothenburg, and supported by the Swedish Research Council. This policy roundtable discussion was made possible through a grant project from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.In this episode, we delved into the intricate governance, economic and security issues confronting post-Assad Syria. Our panelists examined how the fragmented landscape of governance, worsening economic conditions, and environmental challenges impact various communities and locales. The conversation also highlighted the vital roles that local elites and international organizations play in shaping the future of Syria.Guests: Aziz Hallaj, Co-founder and Partner at LUGARIT and Consultant on Urban Planning, Development and Local Governance Ezra Karmel, Director of Proximity InternationalRoundtable Facilitator: Marwa Shalaby, Assistant Professor, Departments of Gender and Women’s Studies and Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.Moderator: Ellen Lust, Founder and Director of GLD, Professor at Cornell University and University of Gothenburg and Director of the Einaudi Center for International Studies at Cornell University

EPISODE TRANSCRIPTIONGovernance Uncovered is brought to you by the Governance and Local Development Institute at the University of Gothenburg, and supported by the Swedish Research Council.In this episode, we discuss some of the research behind the new book Decentralization, Local Governance, and Inequality in the Middle East and North Africa, edited by Kristen Kao and Ellen Lust, and supported by the Hicham Alaoui Foundation. Joining us are three contributing authors who explore critical aspects of decentralization in the MENA region.Guests:Carolyn Barnett, Assistant Professor in the School of Government and Public Policy and the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona.Alexandra Blackman, Assistant Professor at the Department of Government, Cornell University.Steve Brooke, Aassociate Professor in Political Science and Faculty Director of Middle East Studies, both at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.Book: Kao, K., & Lust, E. (2025). "Decentralization, Local Governance, and Inequality in the Middle East and North Africa." University of Michigan Press. Get Open Access here!

EPISODE TRANSCRIPTIONIn this episode, we are joined by Gabrielle Kruks-Wisner to discuss her Cambridge Element, Claim-Making in Comparative Perspective: Everyday Citizenship Practice and Its Consequences, co-written with Janice Gallagher and Whitney Taylor.  Gabi and Ellen explore how everyday claim-making strategies help citizens fulfill their rights. Gabi highlights that claim-making is often overlooked in political behavior studies, which usually focus on elections, mass protests, high court decisions, and legislative actions. This raises the question: What about the politics of the everyday?  The Element and this interview address this question through research from Colombia, South Africa, India, and Mexico. Examples include families in Mexico seeking information about disappeared loved ones, citizens in rural India securing basic services like clean drinking water and education, and the fight for housing and healthcare rights in Colombia and South Africa.  Despite different contexts, all these cases highlight the persistent, often mundane efforts of citizens engaging with bureaucrats and appointed officials to claim their rights. 

EPISODE TRANSCRIPTIONThis episode features interviews with Whitney Taylor, Associate Professor of Political Science at San Francisco State University, and Janice Gallagher, Associate Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University-Newark. Both have recent books on legal mobilization in Latin America. Whitney Taylor ‘s book, The Social Constitution: Embedding Social Rights Through Legal Mobilization, looks at Colombia's 1991 Constitution and how citizens use the 'Tutela' mechanism to claim rights.In Bootstrap Justice: The Search for Mexico's Disappeared, Janice Gallagher explores how Mexican families of disappeared persons engage in 'bootstrap justice,' becoming self-taught investigators to fight impunity. Both conversations highlight grassroots efforts to embed legal rights and challenge power structures in complex political landscapes.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPTIONIn this episode, we have Shandana Khan Mohmand joining us. She is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, and an Associate Fellow at the Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives in Pakistan. Shandana and host Ellen Lust discuss Shandana's book, Crafty Oligarchs, Savvy Voters: Democracy under Inequality in Rural Pakistan, which was published by Cambridge University Press in 2019. The book explores political engagement in rural Pakistan, blending perspectives on clientelism and voting in the global South.  Listen to hear Shandana share insights from her extensive research, the collaborative efforts behind the book, and the relationship between land, kinship, and electoral politics in Pakistan. 

EPISODE TRANSCRIPTIONThis is a bonus episode of Governance Uncovered that is shorter than usual but just as filled with fascinating insights on local governance research. Our guest is Hannah Early Bagdanov, a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Notre Dame. She is also a Doctoral Student Affiliate of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies and the Klau Center for Civil & Human Rights. This episode will discuss Hannah's GLD working paper, "Social Norms and Sector-Level Engagement with the State: Evidence from East Jerusalem." Hannah's research highlights how historical events have shaped the unique status and social norms of East Jerusalemites, influencing their interactions with the Israeli state. We'll also explore how Palestinians in East Jerusalem navigate their engagement with various state services, driven by community social norms, and discuss the contemporary implications in light of ongoing conflicts in Gaza and the West Bank. So, tune in to learn more about the relationship between Palestinians and the Israeli state in East Jerusalem. 

EPISODE TRANSCRIPTThis podcast is brought to you by the Governance and Local Development Institute at the University of Gothenburg and supported by the Swedish Research Council.In today's episode, we have Prakash Bhattarai joining us. Prakash is the Executive Director at the Center for Social Change, a non-profit think-tank based in Kathmandu, Nepal, working on the changing socio-political dynamics of Nepalese society via research, education, advocacy, and community mobilization.Host Ellen Lust and Prakash met to discuss quotas in Nepal at the local level, particularly quotas for women and the so-called lower castes, known as Dalits.The discussion is based on Prakash's research that evaluates the impact of Nepal's 2015 constitution, which introduced a federal governance system with quotas to ensure women, Dalits, and other marginalized groups are represented in all levels of government. Prakash argues that constitutionally mandated quotas offer only surface-level representation and don't foster true diversity and inclusion. For genuine representation, marginalized groups need to be part of the decision-making bodies within political parties and civic organizations. Beyond political inclusion, social inclusion is crucial for broader democratic engagement.LINKS:Prakash Bhattarai: socialchange.org.np/team-members/Center for Social Change: socialchange.org.np/

TRANSCRIPTIONGovernance Uncovered is a podcast produced by the Governance and Local Development Institute at the University of Gothenburg. This podcast is supported by the Swedish Research Council.EPISODE 59We are happy to let you know that this is another podcast mashup, this time with the Middle East Law and Governance (MELG) podcast. MELG is a peer-reviewed journal for scholarly analysis on issues pertaining to governance and social, economic, and ideological transformation in the MENA region. On the MELG podcast, they talk to the journal's contributors about their work and current events in the region. The podcast is hosted by MELG advisory board member Ezra Karmel.Ezra joined us in Gothenburg along with Christiana Parriera, Assistant Professor in the International Relations and Political Science Department at the Geneva Graduate Institute, and Intissar Kherigi, Research Associate at Sciences Po in Paris, and a visiting lecturer at Ibn Haldun University in Istanbul.Together with host Ellen Lust, they delve into how decentralization has shaped the political landscapes of countries like Tunisia, Lebanon, and Jordan. Listen to hear about the complex balance of power, the role of elites, and the ongoing challenges of governance reform across the region.