Institute of Development Studies

Research Themes

Our research is carried out in collaboration with IDS colleagues and research partners and focuses on these research themes:

Public authority and state capacity

Research in this theme considers the legitimacy of public authority exercised by states and demonstrated through the extent and ways in which governments collect taxes, deal with the private sector, ensure access to social services, provide justice and guarantee the rule of law for all.

• State capacity
• Taxation
• Public action and private investment
• Power and Politics in Africa
• Re-creating the State: Governance, Civil Society and Trust in Poland, Russia and Ukraine

Collective action and social accountability

The nature and role of collective action in pressuring for greater inclusiveness, accountability and transparency in public policy is the focus of this theme.

• Collective action around social delivery

Conflict management, security and peace-building

The Team's programme of work on security, humanitarian intervention, peace-building and democratisation in situations of state fragility and regional instability is expanding and we are developing new research partnerships to build on our recent activities.

• Global Uncertainties: Security in an Africa of Networked, Multi-Level Governance
• Global Consortium on Security Transformation
• Security and Justice Systems in Francophone and Anglophone Africa
• Elections and the Role of the International Community

Political and fiscal challenges of extractive economies ('resource curse')

Research being conducted for the Development Research Centre for the Future State is considering whether windfall revenues have improved the state's ability to produce sustainable and equitable budget allocations.

• The New Paradox of Plenty in the Andes

Global governance

The Team's research is not tied to a particular scale or standard definition of state-ness and issues are problematised through concepts of multi-level governance, global governance and networked governance.

Developing and teaching research methodologies relating to governance

Several researchers are engaged in projects to help strengthen research capacity in higher education institutions in Africa.

• Capacity Building in Social Science Education and Research
• Network of Excellence for Qualitative Research in the Social Sciences