The Architecture of Power: Agency vs. Control
It has been a little while since I last shared an update here. In the time I have been away, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the work I’ve been doing—specifically, the deep dives into Madagascar’s economy, the challenges of tax reform, and the frustrating reality of how structural issues often stall progress. While writing about budget deficits and remittances is vital, I found myself constantly hitting a wall: the question of why. Why do certain reforms that seem so logical on paper fail to take root in practice? Why does the system seem to prioritize certain outcomes over others, regardless of the economic data? I realized that to truly understand the economic challenges I’ve been documenting, I needed to zoom out. I needed to look at the "plumbing" of the political systems themselves. That is why I am starting a new series. We are going to move beyond the usual political labels—which often feel like they are built for Western contexts and don't quite fit the ...