New Publication: Designing the Next Generation of Climate Adaptation Research for Development

Jones, L., Harvey, C., Cochrane, L., Cantin, B., Conway, D., Cornforth, R. J., De Souza, K. and Kirbyshire, A. (2018) Designing the Next Generation of Climate Adaptation Research for Development. Regional Environmental Change. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-017-1254-x Abstract: Adaptation research has changed significantly in recent years as funders and researchers seek to encourage greater impact, ensure value for money […]

The Battle for Afghanistan

The way war is waged has significantly changed since the 1800s. One might assume the lessons for contemporary times from such a period would be limited as a result. William Dalrymple’s telling of the British attempt to conquer Afghanistan in 1839-1842 convincingly show the opposite. In “Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan” (2013), […]

Tags: #Afghanistan #Colonialism #Conflict #Dalrymple #History

Ethiopian Migration to the Middle East and South Africa

There are reports of hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian women working in the Middle East, and stories of dangerous travel across the continent of those trying to reach South Africa. However, little is known about the actual trends, policies, and pushes/pulls. A 2015 publication by the Ethiopian Forum for Social Studies addressed this topic in […]

Tags: #East Africa #Ethiopia #Forum for Social Studies #International migration #Migration

Social Hierarchy of Dawuro, Southern Ethiopia

A search on Amazon for books about the southern peoples of Ethiopia suggests a dearth of ethnographic publications. However, one key source of well-informed research that is rarely available to scholars outside of Ethiopia are publications produced by Ethiopian scholars and printed by national publishers. The Forum for Social Studies is one key place to […]

Tags: #Anthropology #Dawuro #Ethiopia #Ethnography #Social Hierarchy

Adjustment with a Human Face

Anyone who has taken a development studies class has most likely heard about the failure of the Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs). Indeed, these programs caused significant harm to the most vulnerable in society. Yet, far too often students are only given a brief summary supported by carefully selected examples (that the World Bank is bad […]

Tags: #Adjustment with a Human Face #Structural Adjustment #Structural Adjustment Programs #UNICEF #World Bank

Can Trade Promote Development?

Joseph Stiglitz and Andrew Charlton wade through the debates and evidence in “Fair Trade for All: How Trade Can Promote Development” (2005). The book aims to “describe how trade policies can be designed in the future with a view to helping the developing countries” including that “liberalization needs to be managed carefully – the task […]

Tags: #Comparative advantage #Development #Policy #Sustainable development #Trade