Opinion
Do not forget the most vulnerable people on World Refugee Day
By Tina Nelis, Brigitte Rohwerder20 Jun 2018
World Refugee Day is a stark reminder that the international community and humanitarian agencies need to do much more to protect the most vulnerable groups, as Tina Nelis and Brigitte Rohwerder from the Humanitarian Learning Centre in their blog post.
Richard Jolly reviews Kishore Mahbubani’s Has the West Lost it?’
By Richard Jolly19 Jun 2018
Richard Jolly reviews Kishore Mahbubani's book, Has the West Lost it?, which sets out the fundamental challenges for the national and international policies and politics of the West.
Land invasions in Zimbabwe: a complex story
By Ian Scoones18 Jun 2018
As part of an ongoing series, Ian Scoones reviews recent work on land invasions in Zimababwe that highlights the confusion, contradictions and ambiguities of Zimbabwe's land reform.
Shifting contexts for Maghreb pastoralists
By Michele Nori14 Jun 2018
Pastoral territories make up two thirds of total land area in the Maghreb, a region in North Africa. While areas of pasture may have shrunk, pastoral territories have reconfigured becasue of technological developments explains Michele Nori.
Are fuel riots the food riots of the 21st century?
By Naomi Hossain13 Jun 2018
Modern life depends on fuel, even while tackling climate change means cutting subsidies for fossil fuels that mainly benefit the rich. Fuel riots seem both common and politically potent, and we have only just noticed them.
Narratives of scarcity and the global land rush
By Ian Scoones13 Jun 2018
If the debate about the land rush is to be reframed, allowing alternative pathways of land use and control to emerge, bringing a political scarcity framing to the fore is an essential move, argues Ian Scoones.
Zimbabwe’s 2018 election: what do the manifestos say about land?
By Ian Scoones11 Jun 2018
The Zimbabwe election has been set for 30 July, and some manifestos have been published. Ian Scoones tells us what they say about land and agriculture.
Under the surface – the global politics of ocean plastic pollution
By Patrick Schröder08 Jun 2018
To mark World Oceans Day this blog highlights some of the political issues that need to be resolved to tackle the ocean plastic pollution crisis and the importance of solutions coming from developing countries.
Do we over-emphasise the importance of youth aspirations?
07 Jun 2018'Aspirations' have a central place in debates about Africa’s youth employment challenge. What factors influence their aspirations? Jim Sumberg explores this question and more in his blog post for Agricultural Policy and Research in Africa.
Debating freedom of religion and belief at Cumberland Lodge
By Clement Arockiasamy07 Jun 2018
IDS student Clement Arockiasamy shares his experience of participating in Cumberland Lodge’s Programme on 'Emerging international Leaders Programme on Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB)'.
Achieving SDGs only possible with people’s participation & monitoring
By Shannon O'Shea30 May 2018
Shannon O’Shea, Agenda 2030 Partnerships Manager and Team Leader, UNICEF, reflects on why people’s participation and participatory monitoring are essential to understanding SDG implementation efforts and creating more accountable and inclusive institutions.
Breaking the Silence on Menstruation in Eritrea
By Elaine Mercer25 May 2018
Menstrual Hygiene day on May 28th aims break the silence and build awareness about the fundamental role that good menstrual hygiene management (MHM) plays in enabling women and girls to reach their full potential.
Participatory impact investing: whose voices count?
By Grace Lyn Higdon, Peter O'Flynn21 May 2018
Impact investing aims to bring about social or environmental change. It's a growing method. In 2017, over USD 114 billion was invested in impact investing assets. But those who are supposed to benefit have little say on where or how investments are made.
Pursuing Universal Health Coverage and Addressing the Challenge of Antimicrobial Resistance
By Tom Barker21 May 2018
The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) Public Health Network, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and IDS convene a multi-country, high-level meeting focusing on the pursuit of UHC in the context of the effective management of infectious diseases and emerging AMR.
Labour and Zimbabwe’s new agrarian structure
By Ian Scoones21 May 2018
Ian Scoones reviews Walter Chambati's recent paper on wage labour across Zimababwe's farms, which has wide reaching policy implications.
Engaging LGBTIQ communities for research
By Stephen Wood17 May 2018
To mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOTB), Stephen Wood takes a look at the ethical and methodological difficulties (and necessity) of conducting research with LGBTIQ communities.
Should we blame livestock for climate change?
By Ian Scoones16 May 2018
Livestock are essential to rural economies and livelihoods across the world. But are these animals contributing to planetary destruction through greenhouse gas emissions? This is a big debate, and one that much good science is focused on argues Ian Scoones.
Is Defra missing the chance to integrate food, environment and farming?
By Elise Wach09 May 2018
Despite the title ‘Health and Harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit’ Defra’s draft agricultural policy is missing just that – food and farming. This is a problem for public health and rural economies argues Elise Wach.
Accountability for health equity and the struggle to meet the most basic health needs
By Erica Nelson08 May 2018
As the new IDS Bulletin on Accountability for Health Equity is launched Erica Nelson considers the past forty years and the need to think more critically about what UHC2030 means in light of past efforts and the nature of change over time.
Changing gender relations after land reform
By Ian Scoones07 May 2018
This is the sixth in a series of short reviews of new work on agriculture and land in Zimbabwe.
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