Milja Kurki
Tel: +44 (0)1970 628639
Fax: +44 (0)1970 622709
Email: mlk@aber.ac.uk
Project work
The Political Economies of Democratisation-project seeks to analyse whether potential exists for rethinking democracy promotion with a multiplicity of conceptions of democracy in mind. Within this project my main emphasis is on exploring the possibilities that exist for more pluralistic thinking on ‘politico-economic models of democracy’ in democracy promotion. While many target states and publics call for recognition of varieties of democracy and economic system, there are many important hindrances that exist to opening up space for thinking about alternative politico-economic models of democracy in today's context - theoretical, structural, ideological, practical, political and normative. In the first, theoretical phase of the project I examine both the varieties of politico-economic models that can be conceived theoretically and the many difficult questions that considering alternatives to the currently dominant liberal model raises. In later phases of the project these theoretical insights are examined in relation to actual practices of democracy promotion with the aim of improving the content, modes and methods of democracy promotion. As part of the project work I am working on a number of articles and a book length manuscript.
Publications linked to the project
Books
Christopher Hobson and Milja Kurki, eds, (2011) Conceptual Politics of Democracy Promotion. London: Routledge.
Milja Kurki (forthcoming 2012, in press) Democratic Futures: Re-visioning Democracy Promotion and Democratization. London: Routledge.
Articles/chapters
Milja Kurki (forthcoming) 'Locating the normative within economic science: towards the analysis of hidden discourses of democracy in international politics', Journal of International Relations and Development.
Milja Kurki, (forthcoming) ‘Revisiting politico-economic models of democracy in democracy promotion’, International Studies Perspectives
Milja Kurki (2011) 'Human rights and democracy promotion: reflections on the contestation in, and the politico-economic dynamics of, rights promotion', Third World Quarterly, 32 (9): 1573:1587.
Milja Kurki, (2011) ‘The limitations of the critical edge: reflections on critical and philosophical IR scholarship today’, Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 40 (1): 129-146.
Milja Kurki (2011) 'Democracy through technocracy? Reflections on technocratic assumptions in EU democracy promotion discourse', Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 5 (2):211-234.
Milja Kurki (2011) 'Governmentality and EU Democracy Promotion: The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights and the Construction of Democratic Civil Societies' International Political Sociology, 5 (4): 349–366.
Milja Kurki (2010), ‘International relations, world views and disciplinary contexts: reflections on theoretical choices’(in Finnish, 'Kansainvaliset suhteet, maailmankuvat ja tieteenalakohtaiset kontekstit: ajatuksia teorianvalinnoista), Kosmopolis 40 (2): 55-65.
Milja Kurki (2010), ‘Democracy and Conceptual Contestability: reconsidering conceptions of democracy in democracy promotion’, International Studies Review, 12 (3): 362-386.
'Why philosophy of science matters: Critical realism and the analysis of democratisation'. In Scientific Realism and International Relations (co-edited by Colin Wight and Jonathan Joseph). London: Palgrave. Forthcoming.
Milja Kurki (forthcoming) ‘Democracy promotion as a liberal world order practice’, Liberal World Order. Oxford: OUP. Edited by Koivisto, Dunne and Flockhart.
Milja Kurki (forthcoming) ‘Fuzzy liberalism and EU democracy support: why concepts (as well as substance) matter’, Substance of EU Democracy Support. Eds Jan Orbie and Anne Wetzel. London: Routledge (tbc).
Other
Milja Kurki, Jeff Bridoux and Christopher Hobson (2012) ‘Rethinking Democracy Support (Policy Paper)’. Tokyo: UN University Press.
Milja Kurki (2012) ‘How the EU can adopt a new type of democracy support’, FRIDE working paper. Madrid: Fride. Available at: http://www.fride.org/publication-newsletter/998/how-the-eu-can-adopt-a-new-type-of-democracy-support
Milja Kurki (2012) ‘Democracy promotion in the context of the crisis of democracy in the West’, openDemocracy, Available on http://www.opendemocracy.net/milja-kurki/democracy-promotion-and-crisis-of-democracy-in-west
'Democracy and Democracy Support: A New Era', available at openDemocracy (with Chris Hobson)
Milja Kurki, Jeff Bridoux and Christopher Hobson (2012) ‘Rethinking Democracy Support (Policy Paper)’. Tokyo: UN University Press.
In works in progress
Jeff Bridoux and Milja Kurki, Democracy Promotion: A Critical Introduction. Routledge.
