Bann Seng Tan
Reviews & Interviews
What people are saying
“International Aid and Democracy Promotion is the all-too-rare example of thoughtful theorizing and testing that is crafted into a powerful, politically meaningful, plausible program for improving political liberalization. Bann Seng Tan has contributed significantly to the theory of foreign aid; to rigorous empirical tests of his theoretically-developed hypotheses; to nuanced regional and case study analyses that nail down what can work and what cannot work in inducing greater political accountability; and he has done so in a way that opens the path to actual improvement in the well-being of people around the world. International Aid and Democracy Promotion does what the best social science should and can do. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how to promote better governance or, for that matter, better social science.”
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Julius Silver Professor of Politics at New York University, USA
“This is a must-read book for scholars and students of democracy promotion. Bann Seng Tan employs both quantitative and qualitative evidence to test and further develop a political economy model that incorporates geopolitical salience, domestic politics, and the bargaining power of the governments that receive foreign assistance — not just those providing it. The book explains the success and failure of democracy promotion efforts in specific cases, but also suggests how donors can deploy such assistance more effectively.”
Michael J. Tierney, George and Mary Hylton Professor of Government and Director of the William & Mary Global Research Institute, USA
Book Talks.
Book Talk “International Aid and Democracy Promotion”, by Bann Seng Tan, Geostrata, Interviewed by Asish Singh, 2 February 2023. Watch it here.
Book Talk “International Aid and Democracy Promotion”, presented as Author with panelists, Suyash Rai (moderator), Rohith Jyothish (discussant), and Quintijn Kat (discussant), Political Science department, Ashoka University, January 27.
“Foreign Aid and Democracy”, Book talk with Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Chicago Center on Democracy, University of Chicago, 2 December 2022. Online at https://vimeo.com/777469128
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, India “Examining Links: International Aid and Democracy Promotion” , Virtual Book Talk, 15 March, 2021. Watch it here.
“Democracy Promotion: Pros and Cons”, 1st Asian Winter School on Political Parties and Democracy in Asia, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, OSCE Academy, University of Nottingham-Malaysia, and
the Research Centre for the Study of Parties and Democracy, 10 December 2021.
“Democracy Promotion: an Appraisal”, Invited speaker, Symposium at Research Centre for the Study of Parties and Democracy (REPRESENT), hosted by University of Nottingham and the University of Birmingham, 27 October, 2021.
“Democracy Promotion: Pros and Cons”, 1st Asian Summer School on Political Parties and Democracy in Asia, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the Research Centre for the Study of Parties and Democracy, OSCE Academy, and the University of Nottingham-Malaysia, 9 September 2021.
Bogazici University Asian Studies Center, “Liberalization at the Margins: Myanmar and Donor Switching". Asia Talks Series, 19 February 2021. Watch it here.
Ashoka University, International Relations Department, International Aid and Democracy Promotion: Liberalization at the Margins, Bann Seng Tan, 20 November 2020.
City University New York, Ralph Bunche Institute, Liberalization at the Margins: International Aid Donors and Democracy Promotion, 10 April 2018.
Podcast & Interviews
Geo-Strata
E-International Relations.
Shepherd.com.
New Books Network.
Rights Talk.
Forthcoming.
E-International Relations, “Interview – Bann Seng Tan”, Interviewed by Stacey Bellido, Associate Features Editor, 7 February 2021
Read about it here .
Bann Seng Tan, “Using foreign aid to do good in a realistic way”, Shepherd.com, https://shepherd.com/best-books/using-foreign-aid-to-do-good-in-a-realistic-way, 23 May 2022.
Read it here.
International Aid and Democracy Promotion: Liberalization at the Margins by Bann Seng Tan, Interviewed by Medha Prasanna, George Washington University, 14 December 2020. Hear it here .
Democracy Promotion, Cheap Talk and Liberalization at the Margins by Bann Seng Tan, Interviewed by Danielle Zach, City College New York, 1 December 2020.
Hear it here .
Forthcoming.
Reach Out to Me
I am happy to give book talks to Universities, think-tanks and civic groups interested in democracy promotion. Given the pandemic, the talks are virtual but I will love to do in-person presentations when circumstances allow.