On June 17th, WIPCAD visiting researcher Dr. Berit Bliesemann de Guevara held a workshop on her research project about the International Crisis Group. The International Crisis Group (ICG), which provides analysis and advocacy for violent conflicts and crises all over the world, has a reputation as an authoritative source of information for international decisionmakers, but has not been studied itself. In their joint project, Dr. Bliesemann and her colleagues undertook a pioneering effort by examining how ICG establishes authority, produces and disseminates knowledge as well as tracing the ICG’s policy impact. (A selection of the project’s findings has been published in a special issue of Third World Quarterly.)
In her workshop, which was open to WIPCAD doctoral fellows as well as students of the Master of Public Management program, Dr. Bliesemann first introduced the ICG and the central research questions of her project. In the interactive part of the workshop, the participants then developed research designs to answer these questions. Finally, Dr. Bliesemann presented the project’s actual approaches to the different questions, comparing them to the research designs sketched in the workshop. This included an overview of her findings, which suggest a critical view of the ICG and a careful reading of its reports.
Written by Basanta Thapa