Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
In an age when almost anything can be somehow quantified and then measured, Sally Engle Merryand#8217;s latest book shows how quantification can hide or even distort as much as it reveals. She is particularly interested in the rise of quantitative indicators as a means of global governance. This is the realm of and#147;soft law,and#8221; where compliance depends on monitoring behavior against a set of standards. Merry focuses on three global indicators: human rights indicators used by the organizations monitoring treaties, surveys measuring violence against women, and the US State Department Trafficking in Persons report that ranks countries in terms of their compliance with anti-trafficking activities. Merry sees these and other indicators as a form of knowledge that places power in the hands of the technical experts and organizations who construct them. She investigates the techniques by which information is gathered and analyzed as well as who determines relevant categories, who collects the data, and who disseminates it. Because measurement and ranking systems typically incorporate theories about social change that are embedded in their design but are rarely explicitly acknowledged, they are a form of knowledge--and hence of power--that typically fly under the radar. The US State Department indicators, for example, assume that prosecuting traffickers as if they were a form of organized crime is the key strategy for eliminating the practice, even though it is only one of several standards and does not address cultures where women and children are often sold by their own families. As Merry persuasively shows, quantified indicators are indeed seductive in their seeming promise of providing clear and objective knowledge about how the world works. In actuality, though, such indicators reflect the values, biases, and political worldviews of those who construct and use them.
Synopsis
Big, attention-grabbing numbers are frequently used in policy debates and media reporting: "At least 200,000-250,000 people died in the war in Bosnia." "There are three million child soldiers in Africa." "More than 650,000 civilians have been killed as a result of the U.S. occupation of Iraq." "Between 600,000 and 800,000 women are trafficked across borders every year." "Money laundering represents as much as 10 percent of global GDP." "Internet child porn is a $20 billion-a-year industry."
Peter Andreas and Kelly M. Greenhill see only one problem: these numbers are probably false. Their continued use and abuse reflect a much larger and troubling pattern: policymakers and the media naively or deliberately accept highly politicized and questionable statistical claims about activities that are extremely difficult to measure. As a result, we too often become trapped by these mythical numbers, with perverse and counterproductive consequences.
This problem exists in myriad policy realms. But it is particularly pronounced in statistics related to the politically charged realms of global crime and conflict-numbers of people killed in massacres and during genocides, the size of refugee flows, the magnitude of the illicit global trade in drugs and human beings, and so on. In Sex, Drugs, and Body Counts, political scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, and policy analysts critically examine the murky origins of some of these statistics and trace their remarkable proliferation. They also assess the standard metrics used to evaluate policy effectiveness in combating problems such as terrorist financing, sex trafficking, and the drug trade.
Contributors: Peter Andreas, Brown University; Thomas J. Biersteker, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies-Geneva; Sue E. Eckert, Brown University; David A. Feingold, Ophidian Research Institute and UNESCO; H. Richard Friman, Marquette University; Kelly M. Greenhill, Tufts University and Harvard University; John Hagan, Northwestern University; Lara J. Nettelfield, Institut Barcelona D'Estudis Internacionals and Simon Fraser University; Wenona Rymond-Richmond, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Winifred Tate, Colby College; Kay B. Warren, Brown University
Synopsis
At least 200,000-250,000 people died in the war in Bosnia. There are three million child soldiers in Africa. More than 650,000 civilians have been killed as a result of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Between 600,000 and 800,000 women are trafficked across borders every year. Money laundering represents as much as 10 percent of global GDP. Internet child porn is a $20 billion-a-year industry. These are big, attention-grabbing numbers, frequently used in policy debates and media reporting. Peter Andreas and Kelly M. Greenhill see only one problem: these numbers are probably false. Their continued use and abuse reflect a much larger and troubling pattern: policymakers and the media naively or deliberately accept highly politicized and questionable statistical claims about activities that are extremely difficult to measure. As a result, we too often become trapped by these mythical numbers, with perverse and counterproductive consequences.
This problem exists in myriad policy realms. But it is particularly pronounced in statistics related to the politically charged realms of global crime and conflict-numbers of people killed in massacres and during genocides, the size of refugee flows, the magnitude of the illicit global trade in drugs and human beings, and so on. In Sex, Drugs, and Body Counts, political scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, and policy analysts critically examine the murky origins of some of these statistics and trace their remarkable proliferation. They also assess the standard metrics used to evaluate policy effectiveness in combating problems such as terrorist financing, sex trafficking, and the drug trade.
--Jack Shafer "Slate"