David Keen
Encyclopedia
David Keen is a political economist
and Professor of Complex Emergencies at the London School of Economics
, where he has worked since the 1990s. He was educated at Cambridge and Oxford in economics and anthropology, and was formerly a consultant for NGOS and development agencies, and a journalist.
Keen has emerged as one of the major theorists of contemporary conflict, notably in African society. His work is based on extensive fieldwork in Sudan, Sierra Leone and Iraq, and archival research.
In Endless War and in several articles he has argued that "winning war is rarely an end in itself; rather, war tends to be part of a wider political and economic game that is consistent with strengthening the enemy". The "war on terror" is, for Keen, an extension of the Cold War
.
The Benefits of Famine explored how the 1980s famines in Sudan were of use to certain groups. Famines have powerful beneficiaries including political elites and traders. International intervention "may offer significant political and bureaucratic benefits for international donors".
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and Professor of Complex Emergencies at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, where he has worked since the 1990s. He was educated at Cambridge and Oxford in economics and anthropology, and was formerly a consultant for NGOS and development agencies, and a journalist.
Keen has emerged as one of the major theorists of contemporary conflict, notably in African society. His work is based on extensive fieldwork in Sudan, Sierra Leone and Iraq, and archival research.
In Endless War and in several articles he has argued that "winning war is rarely an end in itself; rather, war tends to be part of a wider political and economic game that is consistent with strengthening the enemy". The "war on terror" is, for Keen, an extension of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
The Benefits of Famine explored how the 1980s famines in Sudan were of use to certain groups. Famines have powerful beneficiaries including political elites and traders. International intervention "may offer significant political and bureaucratic benefits for international donors".
Major works
- Keen. D. 2007. Complex Emergencies. Bristol: Polity.
- Keen, D. 2006. Endless War? Hidden Functions of the 'War on Terror. Pluto Press.
- Keen, D. 2005. Conflict and Collusion in Sierra Leone. James Currey/Palgrave.
- Keen, D. 1998. The Economic Functions of Violence in Civil Wars. Adelphi Adelphi Papers, No 320. Routledge.
- Keen, D. 1999. Geopolitics of Hunger, 1998-1999. Action against Hunger/Presses Universitaires de France.
- Keen, D. 1994. The Benefits of Famine. A Political Economy of Famine and Relief in Southwestern Sudan, 1983-1989. Princeton University Press.
- Keen, D. 1994. Famine, Needs Assessment, and Survival Strategies in Africa. Oxfam Research Papers. Oxford: Oxfam.
- Keen, D. 1993. The Kurds in Iraq: How Safe Is Their Haven Now? London: Save the Children.
- Keen, D. 1992. Refugees: Rationing the Right To Life: The Crisis in Emergency Relief. London: Zed.
- Keen, D. 1987. Refugees: The Dynamics of Displacement. A Report for the Independent Commission on International Humanitarian Issues. London: Zed.