Julie Hearn

Julie Hearn joined Lancaster University's department of Politics and International Relations "in 2005, having taught previously at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London; the London School of Economics (LSE) and the University of Sussex. Within critical development studies, her research interests include the international politics of aid, civil society, social movements and migrant workers within the historic and contemporary context of North-South relations. Her research interests have evolved in three main directions: the global political economy of civil society in African countries; the labour movement in Argentina; and trade union mobilization among low paid Latin American migrant workers in London.

"Julie has been studying Northern aid policy towards African civil societies, within the broader context of the region's global political economy, for the past fifteen years. This has included ESRC-funded doctoral research in Kenya, a collaborative research project between the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex and research institutes in Ghana, Uganda and South Africa as well as a number of consultancies for the Department for International Development (DfID) in Uganda and the UK. Her research has been published in academic and non-academic fora. The most recent draws on the concept of the comprador, developed in earlier theories of imperialism, to examine the extent to which African NGOs have become key intermediaries for Northern development policy. She has participated in the editorial working group of the Review of African Political Economy.

"Having been a member of the Argentina Solidarity Campaign in London, initiated in response to the economic crisis, she spent ten months in Buenos Aires in 2002-2003 undertaking participant observation in the piqueteros and fabricas ocupadas - unemployed workers and occupied factories - movements. She has presented her findings, placed within the historical context of Argentina's labour movement, at a number of international conferences. In 2007 she taught at a postgraduate summer-school at the University of Buenos Aires, organized by the Euro-Latin American university network, REDESFRO.

"Julie's current research, undertaken with Monica Bergos and funded by a 2008 British Academy Small Grant, explores trade union mobilization among Latin American cleaners in London."

Academic Articles

 * 'African NGOs: The New Compradors?' Development and Change 38(6): 1095-1110 (2007).
 * 'The "Invisible NGO": US Evangelical Missions in Kenya', Journal of Religion in Africa 32(1): 32-60 (2002).
 * 'The "Uses and Abuses" of Civil Society in Africa', Review of African Political Economy (28)87: 43-53 (2001).
 * 'Aiding Democracy? Donors and Civil Society in South Africa', Third World Quarterly 21(5): 815-30 (2000). Republished in Moseley, W. (ed) Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial African Issues, McGraw Hill (3rd edn 2009).
 * 'The "NGO-isation" of Kenyan Society: USAID and the Restructuring of Health Care', Review of African Political Economy (25)75: 89-100 (1998).

Book Chapters

 * 'The US Democratic Experiment in Ghana' in Zack-Williams, T., Frost, D., Thomson, A. (eds.) Africa in Crisis: New Challenges and Possibilities, London: Pluto Press, pp. 97-108, (2002).
 * 'Civil Society and Democracy Assistance in Africa' (with Mark Robinson) in Burnell, P. (ed.) Democracy Assistance, London: Frank Cass, pp. 241-62, (2000).