Village Gone Viral - Understanding the Spread of Policy Models in a Digital Age (Broché)

Village Gone Viral uses the example of Awra Amba, a rural village in North Ethiopia that has become a model for gender equality and sustainable development, to consider the circulation and use of modeling practices in an increasingly transnational and digital policy world. It is commonly assumed that policy model - particularly those that gain recognition as "best practice - can be universally applied to achieve preestablished, desirable outcomes.
But, as Marit Tolo Ostebo argues, the impacts of this model paradigm are far more ambivalent and potentially increase social inequalities, reinforce social stratification, and conceal injustice. With this book, Ostebo critically examines the hidden dimensions of models and model snaking, ultimately calling for a reflexive critical anthropology of the production, circulation, and use of models as instruments for social changes.