Opinion

Opinion

Will there be a right to food in the UK?

If you live in the United Kingdom in 2026, you do not have a right to adequate food. You do if you live in India, which joined the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR – which contains the human right to food) in 1979 and has subsequently recognised the right...

Jody Harris

12 August 2026

Opinion

Savory tales: controversies from the Zimbabwean bush

Allan Savory’s memoir has recently been published – UnSavory: African Stories of Wildlife, War, and the Birth of Holistic Management. It’s a fascinating read. Full of Rhodesian derring-do but some important reflections on the value of field ecology and the dangers of bureaucratically...

Ian Scoones

11 August 2026

Opinion

Improving outcomes for people with disabilities: lessons from stigma and safeguarding work

International development is at a crossroads. The closure of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the reduction in UK’s Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) to record low levels, and funding cuts by other European countries are forcing the development and humanitarian sector...

Claire Walsh

Brigitte Rohwerder

7 August 2026

Opinion

The struggle for Manono: Beyond the China-West narrative in DRC’s lithium rush

The Democratic Republic of Congo became a lithium producer for the first time in its history this year. In June 2026, the Chinese major mining group Zijin Mining began exporting lithium sulphate from the Manono deposit in the DRC’s Tanganyika Province – one of the largest and highest-grade...

Julian Neef

Wei Shen

7 August 2026

Opinion

Zimbabweans flee xenophobic violence in South Africa. What next?

The recent xenophobic violence in South Africa has caused a mass exodus of migrants from the country, including to Zimbabwe. The protests organised by March and March and Operation Dudula, two outfits pushing an anti-immigrant line, have resulted in fear and intimidation, with vigilante...

Ian Scoones

5 August 2026

Opinion

The enemy asymmetry: why fear mobilises the political right more than the left

Across the world, numerous electoral campaigns have successfully mobilised voters by appealing to fear and resentment. Central to this approach is the construction of otherness and the division between ’us’ and ‘them'. This use of ‘enemies’ as a tactic has become particularly prominent...

Carmen Barrera Degante

MA Governance, Development & Public Policy, Class of 2024-25

31 July 2026

Opinion

From mirage to methodological bricolage: exploring the causal pathways of holistic community-led development

This is the third blog in our reflective series on co-designing evaluation of holistic Community-Led Development (CLD) for the Full Spectrum Evidence and Learning Initiative (partnering with Tostan, One Village Partners and IDinsight). In our first blog we named the mirage we were chasing as...

Marina Apgar

Mariah Cannon

30 July 2026

Opinion

Should countries follow Indonesia to add value to critical minerals?

Demand for minerals like nickel, lithium, copper, and rare earths is set to grow by up to four to six times by 2040. For resource-rich countries across Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America, this looks like a historic window. An opportunity for structural transformation, building...

Anabel Marín

29 July 2026

Student Opinion

Towards a positive approach to sexuality in the development agenda

While studying at IDS, students have the opportunity to attend additional seminars and events at IDS, which supplements their learning and provides networking opportunities. Some students also choose to attend external events relevant to their interests. In this blog post, Mayte Rivera Aliaga...

Mayte Rivera Aliaga

MA Gender & Development (Class of 2025-26)

28 July 2026

Student Opinion

So you’re writing a dissertation? Navigating the IDS master’s journey

The autumn term has whizzed past at a dizzying speed, and if you were a master’s student on any of the taught programmes in the UK, you would be getting a supervisor assigned to you for your chosen topic over the winter months. At IDS, things are done a little differently. More in line with...

Zarak Rais

MA Governance, Development & Public Policy (Class of 2025-26)

28 July 2026

Opinion

What Sierra Leone’s frontline workers tell us about adapting outbreak response

When Mpox was confirmed in Sierra Leone in January 2025, the country was not starting from zero. Ebola and COVID-19 had left behind surveillance systems, district coordination mechanisms and community engagement networks that could be reactivated. But mpox tested that preparedness in a...

Catherine Grant & 4 others

27 July 2026

Opinion

(Re)commoning is a climate change intervention

Around the world, an elite class is busy burning through global resources to keep themselves cool and healthy in a warming climate while the wellbeing and quality of life of everyone else, and the ecosystems we depend on, are sacrificed to greed. Ira Deulgaonkar, PhD student at IDS,...

Alison Chopel

27 July 2026

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Showing 1–12 of 2504 results

Will there be a right to food in the UK?

Savory tales: controversies from the Zimbabwean bush

Improving outcomes for people with disabilities: lessons from stigma and safeguarding work

The struggle for Manono: Beyond the China-West narrative in DRC’s lithium rush

Zimbabweans flee xenophobic violence in South Africa. What next?

The enemy asymmetry: why fear mobilises the political right more than the left

Carmen Barrera Degante

From mirage to methodological bricolage: exploring the causal pathways of holistic community-led development

Should countries follow Indonesia to add value to critical minerals?

Towards a positive approach to sexuality in the development agenda

Mayte Rivera Aliaga

So you’re writing a dissertation? Navigating the IDS master’s journey

Zarak Rais

What Sierra Leone’s frontline workers tell us about adapting outbreak response

(Re)commoning is a climate change intervention

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