New Books in Sociology Diana Graizbord, "Indicators of Democracy: The Politics and Promise of Evaluation Expertise in Mexico" (Stanford UP, 2024)
May 2, 2025
Diana Graizbord, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Georgia, discusses her new book on the interplay of democracy and evaluation expertise in Mexico. She delves into how institutions like Coneval aim to ensure accountability but often grapple with complex political realities. The conversation touches on the emergence of 'techno-democracy' and the significance of citizen involvement in shaping policies. Graizbord also examines how political transitions influence the effectiveness of evaluation processes and the broader implications for democracy in the Global South.
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Ethnographer Among Evaluators
- Diana Graizbord began her career in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) before pursuing sociology.
- She realized she could study M&E sociologically to explore its political and social significance.
Challenges of Peer Ethnography
- Doing ethnography among evaluators was both challenging and joyful due to their expertise and epistemic hierarchies.
- Evaluators tested Diana's academic credentials and questioned her hypotheses in interviews.
Coneval's Role and Origin
- Coneval is a semi-autonomous Mexican agency born from Progresa Oportunidades' success to evaluate social programs.
- It enforces evaluation standards and promotes transparency in social development policy across the government.