Dip Kapoor brought together a collective of works that highlight many stories that have not been widely told, stories of localized resistance to large-scale land acquisitions and land grabs. These processes have occasionally included these actors, but often presented them as victims without agency, not actors expressing their agency. In this regard, "Against Colonization and Rural Dispossession: Local Resistance in South and East Asia, the Pacific and Africa" (2017) is a good addition. The book in an edited volume, I share three quotes that stood out:

Narrative: "These struggles are misrepresented by accounts of colonial historiographers and writers who depict our story as one of 'loss'. In their story, we have 'lost' our land and cultural knowledge. These are colonially blurred, minimizing, if not euphemizing, versions of the history of my people. In our experience, these things have not been lost, but 'taken'. These extensive and intensive experiences of a collective people so heavily and systematically dispossessed require a deeper understanding than the nouns 'loss' or 'dispossession' can only begin to offer." (p. 29)

Inequality: "While Adivasis constitute 22 percent of the population in Odisha, they account for 42 percent of the development-displaced persons (DDPs), and at the national level, of the 21.3 million people estimated to be DDPs between 1951 and 1990 due to mines, dams, industry, and parks, they account for 40 percent" (p. 71)

Gender: "The women then stood in a line as a fence of shins (pagar betis) to stop the truck. Some even climbed the truck to unload the confiscated coconuts, while others seized and hid the truck's keys. They took the police as hostages and demanded the release of their fellow villagers. Some women involved in holding the police hostage admitted that the spontaneous action was to avoid bloody fights if they let their husbands physically attack the police – so they ask their men to stay behind while they took the lead. They even provoked, if not cautioned, the police by accusing them of trying to sexually harass them. The experience of taking the police as hostages emboldened them to confront the constant threats and intimidation from police and company laborers / hired thugs, especially when their husbands were imprisoned and they were vulnerable." (p. 111)

New publications from 2018:

• Cochrane, L, Boulanger, R. F., Sheikheldin, G. H. and Song, G. (2018) The Case for Local Ethics Oversight in International Development Research. Canadian Journal of Bioethics 1: 8-16. [from journal here]

• Cochrane, L. and Cafer, A. (2018) Does Diversification Enhance Community Resilience? A Critical Perspective. Resilience. [from journal here]

• Cochrane, L. and Rao, N. (2018) Is the Push for Gender Sensitive Research Advancing the SDG Agenda of Leaving No One Behind? Forum for Development Studies. [from journal here]

• Zerihun N., Tsunekawa, A., Nigussie H., Enyew A., Cochrane, L. and Floquet, A. and Abele, S. (2018) Applying Ostom's Institutional Analysis and Development to Soil and Water Conservation in Ethiopia. Land Use Policy 71: 1-10. [from journal here]

• 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 18: 297-304. [from journal here]

• Cochrane, L. (2018) Ethiopia: Obtaining Ethics Approval and the Role of Social Capital. Canadian Journal of Bioethics 1: 31-33. [from journal here]
  

The International Institute of Social Studies of the Erasmus University Rotterdam the Netherlands is seeking to fill three full-time (100%) vacancies for the position of Post-Doctoral Researcher for a two year period from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2018. We welcome applications from prospective postdoc researchers who are interested in doing operational research on gender, governance and development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

The researchers will be part of the research project 'Power, Poverty and Politics (PPP) in DRC', a subproject of the Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium led by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in London. The project is financed by UK Aid for the UK Government. It comprises a network of partners and research under the project is set up as close collaborations between international and Congolese universities and research institutes. 

This two-year research program (1 January 2017- 31 December 2018) aims to deepen existing research on governance, service delivery and economic growth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to examine the details of policy implementation from national to local levels, to generate lessons from what works in promoting positive change and how to measure change. The PPP will do this by tackling a range of sector specific topics that link closely to Department for International Development (DfID) programs and policies and are thus chosen for their potential to contribute practical operational knowledge.

1. Women, power and society. This project concerns the question of how the changing roles of women in DRC affect their power relations, with a particular focus on social accountability and decision making. It will be based on case studies of development programmes that incorporate social accountability mechanisms (including community scorecards and local community committees), and seek to assess the broader impact of these programmes on gender relations. 
   
2. Everyday politics and practices of family planning in DRC. Promoting and protecting women's reproductive rights and health is key to women's empowerment and gender equality. This proposal concerns current policies and practices of family planning; debates on policy and perceptions of people regarding family planning and the role of societal stakeholders. It takes a 360 degrees, mixed methods look at family planning services. 
   
3. Mining reforms and the changing roles of women in mining communities. The artisanal mining sector constitutes a vital source of income for many poor women and men - a substantial part of the population in DRC. In the course of the past decade,several attempts have been made to promote good governance in the mining sector. This study will focus on the gendered implications of ongoing reforms for the women and communities involved in artisanal mining in (Eastern) DRC.
   

More details.

Fish is a critical source of nutrition and livelihoods in low-income countries such as Bangladesh. WorldFish has played a key role in increasing the supply and availability of fish in low-income contexts through the Livestock & Fish CGIAR Research Program. This impact-oriented research will be the foundation for continuing innovation in fish breeding in the upcoming Fish Agri-foods CGIAR Research Program (FISH CRP). A major challenge for sustainable nutrition and livelihoods security is the development of robust strains of fish that meet the specific needs of poor women and men engaging in smallholder aquaculture. Currently, there are pressing gaps in knowledge regarding gendered preferences and outcomes. In particular, evidence is required as to whether, to what extent, and why the focus and results of fish genetic breeding programs have different outcomes for men and women. This includes the extent to which improved strains meet different needs that women and men may have, and in what way, such technologies may reinforce or shift gender roles, relations, and equity of outcomes. Addressing this gap is the primary focus of this Postdoctoral Fellow (PDF) position.

The PDF will tackle the overarching research question: How do the intended gender-equitable outcomes of the fish breeding program compare with the empirical gendered preferences and impacts, and what are the lessons for breeding program design, implementation and fish seed distribution? The PDF will do so through undertaking a systematic literature review and in depth, mixed methods empirical studies in Bangladesh in relation to the FISH CRP/WorldFish's tilapia and carp breeding program.

Additionally, the PDF will also play a key role in identifying, refining, and communicating to researchers across a range of FISH CRP countries insights into best practice and cutting-edge gender methods and strategies appropriate to different types and phases of aquaculture and fisheries research.

More details.