How are GDI academics tackling the ‘polycrisis’ ?
By Louisa Hann
The world has witnessed seismic political, social, and economic shifts since the turn of the new millennium. From the financial crash of 2008 to the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, the frequency and severity of era-shaping events seem to have ramped up over the past couple of decades. Some – like historian Adam Tooze – have adopted the term ‘polycrisis’ as shorthand to describe the web of acute and convergent challenges confronting humanity at this moment in time. Others prefer the term ‘permacrisis’ to capture the feeling that we’re living through an extended period of emergency and uncertainty.
However we choose to define the current political and social landscape, there’s no doubt scholars must grapple with the interconnectedness of global problems if they want to understand the present. For many, this means casting a critical eye over established development frameworks that emerged during a time of relatively stable capitalist hegemony and may no longer be fit for purpose.
Reflections on the SEED PGR Conference 2024: A Journey of Collaboration and Innovation
The School of Environment, Education, and Development (SEED) held its annual conference for postgraduate researchers on Wednesday, 22nd May 2024. Designed to provide a platform for PhD students to share their research insights, the conference gave students and staff an opportunity to network and engage with work occurring within the SEED community.
PhD student Zhuo Sun was part of the organising committee for this year’s committee. Below, Zhuo describes some of the processes involved with creating the event and reflects on some of its successes.
Opinion: It’s time to transform the economics curriculum
The University of Manchester’s Post-Crash Economics Society and Rethinking Economics recently launched a report examining whether the economics curriculum is fit for purpose in an increasingly turbulent twenty-first century. One of GDI’s undergraduate students – Sammi Dé – was involved in the conception and writing of the report, using what he has learned during his studies to proffer constructive critique of orthodoxies within mainstream economics. In the following blog post, Sammi provides some background to the report and his personal academic journey.
Kenya’s flood evictions may violate the law
Published 17/05/2024 in The Conversation
Recent floods in Kenya have left at least 270 people dead, displaced more than 200,000 and destroyed property, infrastructure and livelihoods across the country. In Nairobi, hundreds of people in informal settlements were left homeless and thousands were displaced. And now, the government has been evicting people from flood-prone areas.
Smith Ouma is a legal expert with a focus on urban governance. His research has covered land and tenure rights in Nairobi’s informal settlements. Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked Ouma to share his thoughts on the government’s response to the flooding in Nairobi’s informal settlements and how it can be improved.
Rwanda’s Resilient Sisters: Rebuilding a Nation Through Women’s Empowerment
Written by Mariana C. Hernandez-Montilla
Ubumuntu means humanity, goodness, generosity, and kindness. For me, Ubumuntu means Rwanda and Rwanda means learning from the past.
GDI researchers recognised for making a difference
At the University of Manchester ‘Making a Difference Awards’ on the evening of 9th May, GDI’s Dr Gindo Tampubolon and PhD researcher Tess Hartland were both honoured for incredible work in their respective fields.
The Global Development Institute at the Development Studies Association Conference 2024
Academics from across GDI will head down to London next month to participate in the highly anticipated Development Studies Association Conference 2024, which is taking place at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, between Wednesday 26th June and Friday 28th June.
This year’s theme is ‘Social justice and development in a polarising world’, and speakers across a range of disciplines and specialities will explore how increasing political polarisation – both at the global and national level – is affecting debates surrounding social justice, global development, inequality and marginalisation, and much more in between.
Beyond ‘welfare state’ idealism: Is it time for a general theory of social protection?
By Armando Barrientos, Professor Emeritus of Poverty and Social Justice at the Global Development Institute
Discussions surrounding how Latin American states can support less advantaged citizens have often looked to European ‘welfare states’ as exemplary models for reducing inequality and tackling poverty. Chile’s young President Gabriel Boric, for example, ran an election campaign built on promises to dismantle neoliberalism through increased public spending and ‘welfare state’ provisions, among other things.
In some ways, it’s easy to see why the ‘welfare state’ model is appealing. Nordic countries, for example, are often praised for their universalist approach, providing a strong financial safety net for citizens, as well as promoting equal opportunities through well-funded public services.
But what if ‘welfare states’ represent the exception to the rule when it comes to supporting less advantaged people throughout the world? What if the uneven nature of capitalist development means Latin American states cannot usefully implement some of Europe’s tried-and-tested welfare mechanisms? This article explores how theorists of social protection can better understand and address such a problem.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships– open for applications
We are delighted that the prestigious MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships call is now open for applications.
We all have to become better economists
International Conference on Land Grabbing 2024, Bogotá, Colombia
by Caroline Cornier
Global Development Institute, University of Manchester
From the 19th to the 21st of March 2024, Colombia’s prestigious Los Andes University in Bogotá, Colombia hosted the International Conference on Land Grabbing. The country’s first leftist, land reform-pushing government was happy to be the host.
The Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI) first convened this conference in 2011, against the background of the financial crisis’ repercussions in the food, land and energy sectors. LDPI is supported collectively by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Cornell University, City University of New York, the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague, the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape and the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. More than 10 years later, at a time when the world faces enhanced social, political and environmental crises, the conference, co-organised by the Journal of Peasant Studies, World Development, Antipode, Globalizations, and Análisis Político, aimed to investigate new evolutions within land grabbing.