or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
22 used & new from £11.49

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places
 
See larger image
 

Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places (Hardcover)

by Paul Collier (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
RRP: £20.00
Price: £12.50 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £7.50 (38%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 24? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
19 new from £11.49 3 used from £11.52

Special Offers and Product Promotions


Frequently Bought Together

Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places + The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It + Dead Aid: Why aid is not working and how there is another way for Africa
Price For All Three: £26.98

Show availability and delivery details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It

The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It

by Paul Collier
4.5 out of 5 stars (34)  £5.49
It's Our Turn to Eat

It's Our Turn to Eat

by Michela Wrong
4.6 out of 5 stars (28)  £8.57
Dead Aid: Why aid is not working and how there is another way for Africa

Dead Aid: Why aid is not working and how there is another way for Africa

by Dambisa Moyo
3.5 out of 5 stars (23)  £8.99
From Genocide to Continental War: The Congolese Conflict and the Crisis of Contemporary Africa

From Genocide to Continental War: The Congolese Conflict and the Crisis of Contemporary Africa

by Gerard Prunier
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £12.19
Fixing Failed States: A Framework for Rebuilding a Fractured World

Fixing Failed States: A Framework for Rebuilding a Fractured World

by Ashraf Ghani
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £9.06
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 272 pages
  • Publisher: The Bodley Head Ltd (5 Mar 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1847920217
  • ISBN-13: 978-1847920218
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.2 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 19,810 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #16 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics > International Relations

Product Description

Review

"It is always a pleasure to discover Paul Collier's latest thoughts... always illuminating and grounded in rigorous social science... it's gripping stuff." --Literary Review, March 2009


Review

"It's hard to be unmoved by [Collier's] anger about the world's blindness to realities, his passion to do things better."

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?


 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Evangelical democracy, 14 Jul 2009
By Peastick (Warwick, England) - See all my reviews
I've lived in Nairobi, and worked in Bosnia. So I'd seen the NGO gravy-train in all its sordid splendor, confirming my opinion that "aid is a method of transferring money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries".

At the same time I believed that we should be exporting democracy at the point of a bayonet...for everyone's sake. But it didn't seem to be working, and I didn't know why.

'Wars Guns & Votes' was recommended to me by an old Kenya hand, because it speaks about these issues - and more. Professor Collier's book explains why aid is currently likely to do as much damage as good. But he goes on to suggest plausable ways to mend the problem.

Similarly, reading this book has convinced me that we have all been kidding ourselves about the sham democracy that African elections so often disguise. Insisting that Presidents simply allow a vote achieves nothing. But linking a more accountable aid scheme with nation-building, military support and a real democracy in the way he suggests here might just bring the boat home.

I hope some big cheese reads this book, and is brave enough to take its advice to heart. But to anyone who is trying to form an opinion about Africa's political future, this book is also a must. It's sometimes a little drawn out, but on the whole Collier's self effacing style overcomes his need to produce the sort of lofty academic tome that usually flourishes in centres of higher learning.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Even beter than the Bottom Billion?, 22 April 2009
I came late to the Bottom Billion and by the time I had finished it this sequel had just arrived. I got it straight away. It follows the same approach of using rigorous academic analysis and then drawing conclusions and action plans.

The analysis of elections, ethnic identity, coups and wars is stimulating and set in the context of UK, US and European developments, not least in that mysterious period in UK history between the end of the Romans and somewhere around 1500 - which is much like Africa today. The proposals for progress are sensible and are built around accountability and security. The penultimate chapter title is "Better dead than fed" and sums up the relationship between food (survival) and the opportunities from federations.

Readers of the Bottom Billion will be pleased to know that this book includes a full list of the countries in an appendix. Both books went to press before the "Lehman disconnect" and the onset of the latest financial and economic crisis: we must hope that the third in the series will not be called the bottom two billion. Some countries, such as Pakistan which gets a passing mention, seem determined to join Afghanistan and the five Central Asian states in the list - and none seem inclined to leave.

In truth, the book mostly concentrates on Africa - anyone wanting to know more about the likes of Bolivia, Cambodia, the Central Asian states or Haiti will not find much here other than general principles.

Professor Collier has an engaging style and as well as being stimulating it is a good read as well. He is a master of the colon: I know of no other book with as many. His occasional intemperate outbursts are a joy. This is a really good book for anyone interested in the world around them, Africa, aid, the application of academic research to real-life problems - and on many other levels too. Recommended.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Changing Reality, 29 Jul 2009
By Laurie Lee - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The last chapter of Collier's excellent and readable book, is called Changing Reality. And that is what really matters. Can his prescriptions for stopping wars and allowing development to take place in the world's poorest and most unstable countries be turned into reality? I believe so. Not least if enough people - including some big cheeses as suggested in another review - read it. The proposal that war and guns are one of the main causes of global poverty is not so new - though it is excellent to see it analysed as thoroughly as Collier does here. The question is what to do about it. In recent years, the answers have all been about building up the capacity to stop wars and conflicts. And the debate has been about whether the African Union could do this, or the UN? Or would it take NATO or the USA? What Collier does is refocus the debate on preventing wars, not ending them. Normally, preventing wars leads to discussions of arms control. And Collier discusses that here. But he's realistic about what can be done along porous borders, and so he looks for other ways too. His big solution is the "security guarantee": If a credible outside force says that it will intervene to stop any attempted coup, then many of the wars we have seen could be prevented. Preventing wars of course costs less lives and less money than ending them - though results in fewer medals. The question which Collier leaves us with, is whether we would be prepared for our armed forces to provide that guarantee. Given current actions in Afghanistan, that is a tough question for our society. But Collier has some tough answers as to why it really would be worth it. If you doubt it, keep your mind open and read the book.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wars, Guns and Votes - Democracy in Dangerous Places by Paul Collier
This is the book to read if you are one of those who despair at the plight of "The Bottom Billion" - the number of those of the world's population who live in abject poverty and,... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Dr. Richard N. Strange

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought Provoking
As a frequent visitor to all parts of Africa I had observed many of the issues to which this book refers. It brought my observations into sharp relief. Read more
Published 7 months ago by C. J. SAVAGE

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject






i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.