New Books
- Measuring Identity: A Guide for Social Scientists
The concept of identity has become increasingly prominent in the social sciences and humanities. Analysis of the development of social identities is an important focus of scholarly research, and scholars using social identities as the building blocks of social, political, and economic life have attempted to account for a number of discrete outcomes by treating identities as causal factors. The dominant implication of the vast literature on identity is that social identities are among the most important social facts of the world in which we live. Abdelal, Herrera, Johnston, and McDermott have brought together leading scholars from a variety of disciplines to consider the conceptual and methodological challenges associated with treating identity as a variable, offer a synthetic theoretical framework, and demonstrate the possibilities offered by various methods of measurement. The book represents a collection of empirically grounded theoretical discussions of a range of methodological techniques for the study of identities.
(Cambridge University Press, 2009)
Weatherhead Center Faculty Associate Rawi E. Abdelal is professor of business administration, Business, Government, and the International Economy Unit, Harvard Business School.
Weatherhead Center Faculty Associate and member of the Executive Committee and Steering Committee, Alastair Iain Johnston is Governor James Noe and Linda Noe Laine Professor of China in World Affairs, Department of Government, Harvard University.
- How Do Good Health Technologies Get to Poor People in Poor Countries?
Many people in developing countries lack access to health technologies, even basic ones. Why do these problems in access persist? What can be done to improve access to good health technologies, especially for poor people in poor countries? This book answers those questions by developing a comprehensive analytical framework for access and examining six case studies to explain why some health technologies achieved more access. The technologies include praziquantel (for the treatment of schistosomiasis), hepatitis B vaccine, malaria rapid diagnostic tests, vaccine vial monitors for temperature exposure, the Norplant implant contraceptive, and female condoms. Based on research studies commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the book concludes with specific lessons on strategies to improve access.
(Harvard University Press, 2009)
Weatherhead Center Faculty Associate Michael Reich is Taro Takemi Professor of International Health Policy, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard School of Public Health.
- Mobilizing for Human Rights: International Law in Domestic Politics
This volume argues that international human rights law has made a positive contribution to the realization of human rights in much of the world. Although governments sometimes ratify human rights treaties, gambling that they will experience little pressure to comply with them, this is not typically the case. Focusing on rights stakeholders rather than the United Nations or state pressure, Simmons demonstrates through a combination of statistical analyses and case studies that the ratification of treaties leads to better rights practices on average. Simmons argues that international human rights law should get more practical and rhetorical support from the international community as a supplement to broader efforts to address conflict, development, and democratization.
(Cambridge University Press, 2009)
Center Director Beth A. Simmons is Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs, Department of Government, Harvard University.