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By Abdullah Qayomi Between 2001 and 2021, Afghanistan received more international development assistance than almost any country in modern history. Nevertheless, the Afghan state fell apart within days creating social chaos and causing the country to hit rock-bottom socially, economically and politically like never before in its history. The explanation for such a level of … Continue reading "The…
By Sabrina Chakori Post-growth entrepreneurship: the need for non-extractivist models There is growing recognition that responding to the socio-ecological crisis requires more than technological fixes. There is a need to shift away from palliative interventions, which remain limited to promoting incremental or unproven technological approaches, and to embrace more radical interventions that…
By Ben Radley and Imogen Eagles The ocean’s seabed contains vast deposits of minerals deemed critical for green transition technologies, military defence systems and AI hardware, among other uses. According to some estimates, the Clarion-Clipperton Zone alone – an approximately 4.5 million square kilometre abyssal plain in the Pacific Ocean – holds more copper, nickel … Continue reading "The…
By Heiner Janus and Michael Roll Manchester embodies reinvention like few other places. It built the world’s first industrial economy, watched it rust, and recast itself as the capital of England’s north. When protests turned deadly at the Peterloo massacre, it helped galvanise a tradition of organised labour and democratic reform — one that later … Continue reading "What to Play Next: Development…
By Ryan Briggs and Andy Sumner Development Studies is institutionally well established. The QS rankings identify over 150 universities with postgraduate Development Studies programmes across approximately 40 countries. Journals, institutes and scholarly associations have proliferated since the 1960s. Yet the field has long been characterised by unresolved tensions over what development is for,…
Who Counts When Vulnerability Has No Strategic Value? By Nadia Molenaers The debate about the future of development cooperation has accelerated sharply. Aid budgets are shrinking in several donor countries. Geopolitical rivalry is reshaping international partnerships. New actors and new financing mechanisms are challenging long-standing assumptions about how international cooperation should be…
By José Antonio Alonso At the beginning of the 1960s, OECD donors decided to establish a specialized body—the Development Assistance Committee (DAC)—to govern the aid system. Since then, the DAC has proven effective in defining standards, harmonizing reporting, disseminating good practices, and promoting learning and accountability among donors. These achievements, however, go along with a ……
By Andy Sumner and Stephan Klingebiel The 2026 US–Israel–Iran war has produced what the International Energy Agency describes as the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. Brent crude rose from around $70 at the end of February to a peak of about $140 in early April before settling around $100 … Continue reading "Three Implications of the Oil Shock for the Turbulent…
By Bernabas Petros and Bethelhem Teshome / Shaping Sustainable Futures conference series Global health policy loves a good success story. Community health workers are constantly praised as the backbone of efforts to achieve SDG 3 — healthy lives and well-being for all. From Ethiopia’s famous Women Development Army to Malawi’s Health Surveillance Assistants and the … Continue reading "Why…
By Karen Heikkilä and Geethanjali Mariaselvam It has long been acknowledged in biodiversity conservation and human development circles that local communities have a special role in safeguarding nature. Local religions and stewardship principles and practices have sustained the bond between people and their specific environments, amidst legal, capitalist and modernist pressures. This is supported…
