Avoiding capitalism? The ‘risk turn’ in social protection is a wrong turning
Armando Barrientos, Emeritus Professor, Global Development Institute
Policy responses to Covid-19 have encouraged discussion of the future scope of social assistance, and social protection. Social assistance infrastructure – registries, payment systems, poverty maps – facilitated the rapid deployment of large-scale emergency support during the pandemic. This raised expectations that their consolidation would result in an expansion of social protection.
A more cautious assessment of the future of social protection might be in order. Emergency support has been largely time-limited and is gradually being withdrawn. Fiscal deficits and public debt resulting from the pandemic have eliminated any fiscal space. read more…
Footprints of a Scholar
By Irene Okhade and Bridgit Kabah
On 19th May 2021, the Global Development Institute and the wider University of Manchester community received with sadness, news of the demise of their alumnus, respected researcher and academic colleague, Dr Franklin Yayra Adorsu Djentuh.
Franklin obtained his Doctorate at GDI three years ago and had re-joined the institute as Senior Tutor with our Management, Governance and Development cluster more recently. To honour his passing, we organised a symposium on 21 October 2021 to reflect on his life, legacies, research and community impact. Indeed, a symposium of this nature was an indication that Franklin has a legacy worth sharing with a wider audience. read more…
Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss and the Future of Development
Johan A Oldekop, Charis Enns and Rose Pritchard, Global Development Institute, The University of Manchester
John Kerry, the US climate envoy, has high hopes for the outcomes of COP26. Indeed, politicians across political divides have stressed the ‘make or break’ nature of these talks. Over the past year, the media has consistently covered the build-up to the climate conference in Glasgow. BBC Radio 4, the broadcaster’s flagship news and spoken-word channel is, for example, currently hosting a podcast entitled ‘39 ways to save the planet’ to accompany a recent eponymous book.
While climate change and COP26 have grabbed the headlines, the “other” COP – COP15 – has largely flown under the media radar. The United Nation’s Convention on Biological Diversity’s 15th Conference of the Parties, whose first virtual session has just ended (the second session will be held in person in Kunming between 25th of April – May 8th) is grappling with the world’s other existential environmental threat: biodiversity loss. In the same way that COP26 will aim to revise international and national climate change mitigation targets, the aim of COP15 is the development of a new international and national biodiversity conservation agenda to supersede the Aichi Biodiversity targets. read more…
Photo competition about transnational migration and Covid-19 in Latin America
Dr Tanja Bastia, The University of Manchester, Dr Erika Busse Cárdenas, Macalaster College, Dr María Calderón Muñoz, independent scholar
Erika, María and Tanja have known each other for over twenty years – we met in 1998 as students at the MA in Gender and Development (MA12) at IDS, Sussex. Last autumn (2020) we started meeting quite regularly on Zoom, first just catching up about the way the pandemic was affecting our lives and the countries we are most familiar with, and over time, to discuss decolonial readings. By spring, we were ready to put our heads together and do something different. We saw the call for proposals from the SEED Social Responsibility Catalyst Fund and thought about seeking funds for a photo competition and exhibition. Erika previously worked as a professional photographer and we all worked on different aspects of mobility, one way or another. With this project, we wanted to contribute to dispelling stereotypes and myths surrounding migration by inviting photographs by migrants with diverse backgrounds. read more…
Former student reforming education law in Mexico
Our former student Elisa Soto is putting her Master’s dissertation into practice in her home country, Mexico, to address gender inequalities in education.
During her studies at the University, Elisa decided to undertake a dissertation analysing India’s Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) policy intervention, her evaluation concluded that MHM can improve girls’ educational outcomes if viewed within a social justice framework. read more…
Advancing horizontal solidarity or long-term profit? The messy politics behind the German business sector response to refugee integration
Tanja Müller, Professor of Political Sociology, Global Development Institute
Tanja R. Müller and Lisa Ann Richey have organised two panels at the upcoming International Humanitarian Studies Organisation Conference in Paris (3-5 November) on the theme: Taking ideology out of humanitarianism? The everyday, corporate interests and the politics of global solidarity where Tanja will also present findings of her project on business centre engagement and refugee integration.
We have seen over the past decades how sectors that are not traditionally involved in development or humanitarian action have become key actors. These include for example celebrities of various kinds – think Band Aid and Live Aid – a theme about which I have also written in the past. read more…
Against the odds? Democracy counters dominance in Zambia’s 2021 election
Kate Pruce, ESRC Research Fellow, Global Development Institute, Hangala Siachiwena, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Cape Town and Marja Hinfelaar Director of Research and Programs at the Southern African Institute for Policy and Research, SAIPAR
On 12 August 2021, Zambians went to the polls for the country’s eighth presidential election (and sixth general election). From a wide field of 16 candidates, the leading contenders were the Patriotic Front (PF) party’s President Edgar Lungu and Hakainde Hichilema, from United Party for National Development (UPND). Following an extremely tight race between these two rivals in the previous election in 2016, which Lungu narrowly won with 50.35% of the vote, tensions were high. In the early stages of August’s election count, the incumbent President was trailing behind opposition leader Hichilema and claiming that the elections were “not free and fair”. Initially, Lungu looked set to reject the results citing incidents of violence and allegations of fraud. However, after a weekend of tension and behind-the-scenes negotiations, Lungu conceded defeat on 17 August. read more…
Prof Diana Mitlin entered into the Academy of Social Sciences
Professor Diana Mitlin was recently conferred the award of Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. New fellows are recognised for the excellence and impact of their work and their wider contributions to the social sciences for public benefit.
What’s so special about contemporary megaprojects?
Seth Schindler, Senior Lecturer in Urban Development and Transformation, Global Development Institute, Simin Fadaee, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, The University of Manchester, and Dan Brockington, Professor, The University of Sheffield
A seismic shift?
We live in an age of megaprojects whose unrivalled ambition and scope would make even the most committed mid-20th century modernization theorist blush. In 2013 Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the most ambitious infrastructure megaproject in history, which aims to dramatically expand China’s influence in global production and trade networks. read more…
Older people’s contribution to development
Dr Tanja Bastia, Reader, Global Development Institute and Dr Matthew Walsham, Research Associate, South-South Migration Hub, Global Development Institute
As we celebrate the International Day of Older Persons, we pause to reflect on the many contributions that older people make to development. We both work on ageing and migration, albeit in different contexts (Tanja in Bolivia, in Latin America and Matthew in Uganda, in Africa) and on different types of migrations (Matthew on internal migration and Tanja on cross-border migration). However, over the course of our projects, we found many themes in common. read more…