Blogs

ENGAGING, LEARNING, TRANSFORMING

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Reconfiguring rural authority after land reform

By Ian Scoones
17 Apr 2018
As part of a series of short reviews of new work on agriculture and land in Zimbabwe, Ian Scoones reviews a Grasian Mkodzongi's excellent paper on the reconfiguration of rural authority in the aftermath of Zimbabwe’s Fast Track Land Reform Programme,

Rubbish in an open area by a housing block in a part of Karachi, Pakistan.

How can community-based waste management address Pakistan’s waste crisis?

By Patrick Schröder, Richard Gower
16 Apr 2018
A community-based waste management project in Pakistan reduces greenhouse gas emissions, improves public health, creates jobs and offers a remarkable ten dollars in benefits for every dollar invested in it.

Penny Mordaunt visits school with World Bank

The mission for global Britain - 7 reflections on where next for 0.7

By Hannah Corbett
12 Apr 2018
Reflections on the UK Secretary of State for International Development's vision for UK Aid and Development.

Why killing reindeer is poor science

09 Apr 2018
The Norwegian state has ordered Sami reindeer owners to reduce the size of their herds to the ‘carrying capacity’ deemed acceptable by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, arguing that high stocking rates detrimentally affect the fragile tundra ecosystem.

Emancipatory rural politics in the face of authoritarian populism

By Ian Scoones
04 Apr 2018
The need for a new narrative to counter authoritarian populism, one that is popular, inclusive and progressive was a common call – also cross-class, intersectional and human rights grounded.

Photo of Nathan Oxley, Communications Assistant, STEPS Centre

Cambridge Analytica: more is at stake than votes

By Nathan Oxley
04 Apr 2018
Like all good propagandists, CA’s currency is emotion: not only hopes and dreams, but fear and loathing.

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Vaginas, the UN and social science: making evidence count

By James Georgalakis
28 Mar 2018
It was with some trepidation I travelled to the 62nd session of the UN Committee on the status of women (CSW62) last week armed with a large bag of striking black and yellow flyers asking: “Is your vagina holding you back?”

This was written on an actual voting booth. It reads, "DICTATORIAL DEMOCRACY... is where you have FREEDOM of SPEECH but the ADMINISTRATION doesn't LISTEN. Credit: The Prophet (CC BY 2.0)

Authoritarian accountability and accountable authoritarianism

By Mariz Tadros
27 Mar 2018
Do accountability tools such as community scorecards, workshops and roundtables, or participatory budgeting inadvertently provide a "citizen engagement" facade without seriously probing uneven distribution of power or the stifling of marginalised groups?

This is the cover for Zimbabwe's Land Reform: Myths and Realities

Authoritarian populism in southern Africa

By Ian Scoones
26 Mar 2018
Reflections from Ian Scoones on military muscle and populist promises.

Karamoja, Uganda - Photo Credit: Matteo Caravani

The many futures of pastoralism in the Horn of Africa

By Ian Scoones
23 Mar 2018
To understand contemporary pastoralism in the Horn, we should not be blinded by the idealised stereotypes or imaginaries of tradition argues Ian Scoones in his latest blog post for PASTRES.

Bangladesh Aylapata Kata, Borguna

Tripti Rani (20), who is seven months pregnant, has her blood pressure checked at the union health and family planning centre where the treatment is free.

Credit: G.M.B. Akash / Panos

Gags and Gaps: Why sharing evidence on women’s life choices is hard

By Kelly Shephard
23 Mar 2018
IDS's Kelly Shepard on the challenges of sharing knowledge about policies that can improve women’s life choices.

J Brew Flickr complexity image Creative Commons

New insights on navigating complexity in development

By Eric Kasper, Marina Apgar
22 Mar 2018
To help advance our understanding of complexity and self-organisation in social systems, IDS is currently convening a seminar series entitled Complexity and Development to share insights from across disciplines and practice. Here are a few highlights so far.

Patrick Schroeder, Research Fellow with the Green Transformations research cluster at IDS

Why we need circular, nature-based solutions to end water poverty

By Patrick Schröder
22 Mar 2018
In the run up to Water World Day, the UN has published the World Water Development Report (WWDR 2018). The report emphasises the need for nature-based solutions to solve the global water crisis and states that they will support the circular economy.

Local action, first hand

By Richard Jolly
22 Mar 2018
In a world wondering about the outreach and impact of the UN, the SDGs will need widespread grassroots ownership if they are to create meaningful, lasting change. These examples, from Kenya and the UK, inspire hope and offer ways forward.

Waste pickers on top of a large waste dump in Brazil, collecting plastic bottles for recycling.

Can the circular economy design out inequality as well as waste?

By Patrick Schröder
19 Mar 2018
IDS Researcher Patrick Shroder sets out a number of building blocks to ensure that a circular economy approach reduces existing inequalities and does not exacerbate them.

Land reform and transformative social policy

By Ian Scoones
19 Mar 2018
Ian Scoones reviews a new article published by UNISA based on the major district level survey carried out by the Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies.