Charter Cities Podcast

Tackling Poverty and Preventing War with Chris Blattman

Apr 19, 2022

01:15:32

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Highlights

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Episode notes

Are You Taking a Positive Action?

02:02

How Do You Model Gang Warfare?

04:14

The Queen of Cities by Jane Jacobs

01:59

Introduction

2min

War and Violence, to a Surprising Degree

3min

Is the War in Ukraine a War Between Russia and Ukraine?

3min

The Five Logics for War

4min

The Destructiveness of Our Weapons

2min

Are We Going to Have More War?

2min

The Intangible Incentives

5min

Is There a Window of Opportunity?

2min

The Five Logics That Lead to War or Make Peace Break Down

3min

10.

How Do You Model Gang Warfare?

4min

11.

Is There a Mister Rogers of Ugonda?

3min

12.

Isay, Johnson, We Have to Write This Out

3min

13.

The Cost Benefit Calculus Is Stacked Against It

3min

14.

The Crime Lab in Chicago?

2min

15.

Anti Politics Machine by James Ferguson

3min

16.

Is There a Market for Cattle?

2min

17.

Is There a Substantial Effect of Cash Transfers?

2min

18.

The Liberian Social Insurance System

2min

19.

The Impact of Industrial Work, Factory Employment, on Lending

3min

20.

The Harris School, a New All Star Programme in Political Economy

3min

21.

Cash Transfers Are Better Than Giving Chickens

3min

22.

The Single Best Investment We Can Make as Humanity

2min

23.

Political Decentralization

4min

24.

The Classic Mistake of Thinking Complex Problem Is a Simple One

2min

25.

I'm a Toronto, Just the Nicest Place

3min

26.

Are You Taking a Positive Action?

2min

27.

The Queen of Cities by Jane Jacobs

2min

28.

What Question Didn't I Ask You That You Think I Should Have

2min

29.

The Charter Cities Podcast - Chriss Blatman

2min

The Ukraine-Russia conflict has dominated headlines over the past few months, with countless theories and hypotheses being touted to explain Russia’s aggression. Join us as we talk to one of the world’s leading experts on violence and politics, Professor Chris Blattman. We start the episode with an explanation of why Chris chose to write his latest book Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace, and how he can apply the logic within to explain Putin's motivations and behavior. We learn why peace is a better driver for innovation and competition than war, and what Chris feels about the controversial observations made by John Mearsheimer about the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Tune in to learn what the George Washington example is, and the role of the COVID-19 pandemic in the rising levels of violence within the USA. We next move on to the role of CBT in reducing violence across the globe, with some insightful examples of Mr. Rogers-like personas across Africa who Chris has worked with. This episode is jam-packed with tons of fascinating insights into current affairs, how to best tackle poverty, theoretical debate and so much more. Join us today as we talk to a true role model and thought leader on another episode of the Charter Cities podcast.

Key Points From This Episode:

• An introduction to Chris Blattman, author, economist, political scientist, expert on violence, and seasoned peacebuilder.

• The inspiration behind why Chris wrote Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace.

• Chris’s response to John Mearsheimer’s observations on the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

• Why Chris is content that his book was published before Russia invaded Ukraine.

• The five logics of war applied to the Ukraine-Russia conflict: unchecked interests, intangible incentives, uncertainty, commitment problems, and misperceptions.

• Why Chris feels that peace drives competition and innovation better than war.

• The George Washington example: what it means and how it can be applied to other situations.

• Why Chris is interested in applying Machiavellian logic to his research and blogging.

• How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted levels of violence within the USA, and why.

• Why the Mr. Rogers principle is so effective, and examples Chris has come across in other countries.

• CBT and how it can be applied to reduce poverty.

• The monetary values associated with CBT across different cultures.

• Why oversimplifying complex problems is bad for the solution, and why including locals in the solution is key to success.

• An example of one of Chris’ RCTs that failed!

• Why Chris feels that he might have had a larger impact on society if he had moved into consulting in Africa.

• The factors that helped to make the Harris School the success it is today.

• Why Chris thinks giving cash is more effective at reducing poverty than other interventions.