Isabel Rocha de Siqueira
Isabel Rocha de Siqueira is an Assistant Professor at IRI, PUC-Rio. She holds a PhD in International Relations from the Department of War Studies, King's College London. At IRI, she conducts research on international development cooperation, conflict-and-development issues, state fragility, poverty, cash-transfer programs, IPS and quantification. She has recently published in Global Governance, International Political Sociology (IPS) and Third World Quarterly.
Biography
Isabel Rocha de Siqueira is an Assistant Professor at IRI, PUC-Rio. She coordinates a laboratory on methodology and is also an affiliated researcher at IRI's Brics Policy Center (BPC). She holds a PhD in International Relations from the Department of War Studies, King's College London, where she also acted as Teaching Fellow and co-founded an International Political Sociology (IPS) research group, convening several workshops and seminars. At IRI, she teaches and conducts research on international development cooperation, conflict-and-development issues, state fragility, poverty, cash-transfer programs, IPS and quantification. She has recently published in Global Governance, International Political Sociology (IPS) and Third World Quarterly. She was recently awarded a grant by CNPq (Brazil) to map Brazilian authoritative sources of data used by major international organizations and she is currently pursuing a grant to conduct research on cash-transfer programs and what they can tell us about data and truth in a post-truth era.Currently, I am interested in the philosophical discussions regarding data and truth, mostly in face of debates about post-truth in politics, and am interested in debates over the role of academia in promoting and criticizing public policies in this scenario. Based on my experience exploring such issues in the realm of conflict-and-development interventions, I believe there is much yet to understand regarding the role of data, the dangers of massive data collection and their impacts over relations of power in contemporary politics.
Education
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PhD in International Relations, King's College London
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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My areas of expertise include international development cooperation, conflict-and-development issues, state fragility, poverty, cash-transfer programs, IPS and quantification
Personal Interests
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Travelling, dystopian novels, people
Books
Articles
Symbolic Power in Development Politics: Can 'Fragile States' Fight with Numbers?
Published: Mar 02, 2017 by Global Governance
Authors: Isabel Rocha de Siqueira
The fragile states agenda has recently converged with the so-called culture of measuring for results, creating standards often seen by critics as donor driven. The SDGs invite a data revolution that can see yet more intense practices of quantification. Nevertheless, this article argues such practices can be widening windows of opportunity for change. It looks at the g7+ and its tools for self-measurement. These tools closely resemble mainstream quantification but also bring key contributions.
Powered and Disempowered by Numbers: Data Issues in Global Governance
Published: Mar 02, 2017 by Global Governance
Authors: Isabel Rocha de Siqueira, Christopher C. Leite, Monique J. Beerli
By looking at quantification as a technical and political technique of power, we can effectively engage with newly established types of transnational power. The section looks at how numbers, in the form of risk assessments, measuring for results, and governance indicators, have a crucial impact in current transnational politics, which in turn influences resource allocation and recognition, discourses on undesirable individuals, possibilities for political leverage, and potential ownership.
Development by Trial and Error: The Authority of Good Enough Numbers
Published: Dec 06, 2016 by International Political Sociology
Authors: Isabel Rocha de Siqueira
Dialoguing with recent literature on governance by numbers, the article argues that errors are not the issue. Taking development policy-making as an illustration, the article suggests that numbers in policy are increasingly imbued with a reasoning according to which it is only necessary to find “enough” correlation. The aim is to show how imperfect methods and objects become authoritative while their imperfection is anything but hidden.
Measuring and managing 'state fragility'...
Published: Mar 03, 2014 by Third World Quarterly
Authors: Isabel Rocha de Siqueira
This article analyses the role of indicators and statistics in the labelling and managing of ‘fragile states’, examining the powerful consequences of these classifications but also discussing the untraceable nature of numbers and the difficulties in attributing ownership of numerical claims and assigning responsibility for their many unforeseen impacts.