Global Development Institute Blog

Global Development Institute Blog

We’re the Global Development Institute at The University of Manchester: where critical thinking meets social justice.

GDI Research Digest: Probing Prevalent Development Narratives

GDI Research Digest: Probing Prevalent Development Narratives

By Dr Louisa Hann

The field of Development Studies is no stranger to grand narratives. One much-cited example concerns the inaugural address of US President Harry S. Truman in 1949. Tasked with inspiring national optimism and pride in a context of Cold War tensions and collapsing European imperialism, Truman deployed the language of development to position the US as a heroic global actor. Given its superior abilities to amass wealth and produce advanced technologies, the story went, the US was primed to help poorer parts of the globe ‘catch up’ through generous aid and development programmes.

Beneath the surface of this triumphal rhetoric, however, lay realities of colonial violence and dispossession that spurred the US to global hegemonic dominance. As many critical development scholars point out, Truman’s words implicitly disavowed this history by characterising disparities between nations as ‘natural’ and therefore legitimate. What’s more, pinning the notion of ‘progress’ to delimited models of capitalistic growth and industrialisation validated the implementation of policies that have negatively impacted the Global South.

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Global warming, national vulnerability and personal anxiety in 113,00 teenagers and adults from 108 countries: How does trust in science affect mental health?

Global warming, national vulnerability and personal anxiety in 113,00 teenagers and adults from 108 countries: How does trust in science affect mental health?

by Dr Gindo Tampubolon, Reader in Global Health

A series of six scientific assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports with increasing confidence that global warming poses major risks to the earth and its people. What is equally clear is millions of people do not trust the fact.

The assessments have been diligent in documenting and refining the consequences of global warming to nations and citizens, their well-being, livelihoods and health. Heat exhaustion, for instance, puts older adults at risk of heart failure, while increased awareness of climate change has been linked to a rise in common mental health issues such as anxiety.

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The role of culture in institutional change: revising political settlements analysis

The role of culture in institutional change: revising political settlements analysis

By Dr Clare Cummings (Lecturer in Politics and Development)

The rules (or institutions) that govern how we distribute resources and uphold rights are central to questions of inclusion, equity and development. A popular framework for understanding the roots of formal and informal institutions is political settlements analysis (PSA). First developed by Mushtaq Khan in 2010 and influencing over a decade of donor-funded research, PSA argues that to understand how institutions function, we must analyse the ‘inherited balance of power or “political settlement”’ in which institutions exist. According to PSA, rules reflect the interests of the powerful.

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One World Together: Our funding, finances and future one year on

One World Together: Our funding, finances and future one year on

June 8th 2023 marked a momentous occasion. One World Together – and our vision to build a new people-powered and community-centred funding system – was born. What a year it has been! Our One World Together community grew to 130 Global Citizens from across 15 countries, and a special partnership with The University of Manchester that means every student can join as a Global Citizen for free!

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Polycentric Governance, Cocoa Prices, and Inequalities in Bangladesh: GDI’s Latest Working Papers

Polycentric Governance, Cocoa Prices, and Inequalities in Bangladesh: GDI’s Latest Working Papers

We regularly release working papers designed to spark and deepen discussions across the field of development studies. We’ve been publishing these working papers since 2007, with an extensive catalogue covering everything from the political economy of plastic bag bans to sexuality and migration in the Global South.

Working papers allow academics to test new ideas and disseminate provisional findings with relevant researchers and interested communities, without having to go through the process of publishing work in an academic journal. Of course, the research presented in a working paper may well end up as a journal article later down the line. By releasing findings at a relatively early stage, authors may enhance their academic profile, benefit from valuable feedback, and engage in stimulating discussions that deepen their understanding of pressing issues within a given field.

So, what hot topics have GDI academics and related colleagues been addressing in our latest set of working papers?

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Career navigation and preparation as an international student in the UK

Career navigation and preparation as an international student in the UK

Xinyue Zhao explores her journey navigating CVs, job interviews, and career aspirations as one of GDI’s employability champions.

This blog is part of a series by our Employability Champions, helping to prepare graduates for life after study. Read our piece by Raju Sarkar discussing the challenges and opportunities associated with finding a development sector job in India here, or read Vinka Maharani’s tips on navigating your career journey as an international student returning home here

 

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Student voices: championing career success in GDI

Student voices: championing career success in GDI

 

Shirley Jenner, GDI employability lead (2019-2024), reports on a recent employability initiative where international postgraduate taught (PGT) students worked to strengthen career support provision in the Global Development Institute. The project was designed to explore two over-arching questions:

What career aspirations do our students bring when they come to study at the University of Manchester? How can students fulfil those dreams?

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