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The New Washington Dissensus: Trump’s Five Principles for Development Cooperation

By Andy Sumner and Stephan Klingebiel

The Trump administration has set out to radically reshape U.S. foreign aid, pushing the “America First” agenda to ensure every dollar spent abroad serves American interests.

The latest indication comes in the form of a 36-question survey sent to international organizations and NGOs that are USAID recipients, effectively forcing them to justify their alignment with U.S. sovereignty, national security, and economic interests. This questionnaire is more than bureaucratic red tape—it is a litmus test for ideological compliance with Trumpism.

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Building Inclusive Partnerships: Key Strategies for Successful Funding Applications

By Roseanna Avento, Kelly Brito and Susanne von Itter

In the realm of research and development, fostering inclusive global academic partnerships is crucial for addressing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) considerations. These partnerships not only enhance the quality and relevance of research but also ensure that diverse perspectives and expertise are integrated into collaborations. Inclusive partnerships help bridge gaps between different regions, disciplines, and communities, promoting a decolonial and more equitable approach to engagement between the Global South and Global North.

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What is the Salience of Arthur Lewis’ Ideas for Understanding Global Inequality Today?

By Andy Sumner

Seventy years ago, Arthur Lewis wrote a seminal paper on economic development in the Global South. At a workshop at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester, convened by the EADI Working Group on the Politics and Political Economy of Economic Transformation, co-convenor Pritish Behuria and GDI’s Adam Aboobaker, it was clear Lewis’ relevance is as significant today as ever. This blog reflects on Lewis’ contributions to the study of global inequality.

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Thinking Beyond the Colonial Ecosystem

By Touseef Mir / part of our “Share your Decolonising Story” project

The concept of development has been significant in shaping the current texture of the world and society around us. Not only was development an important tool of the European colonial enterprise, but the notion of development also resonates with similar power hierarchies. However, there is increasing realisation, especially within academia, about not only the colonial beginnings of development but its continued and significant (neo)colonial hues, be it in theory, policy or praxis of development.

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The Role of Critical Poetic Inquiry in Decolonising ‘Development’

By Nita Mishra

For Development Studies (DS) to truly decolonise itself, it must include the voices that do not find their way to its dominant narrative. To locate these hidden voices, and amplify them, DS scholars must embrace newer ways of doing research. Newer ways of doing research means adopting newer tools or methods of doing research with the aim to identify sources of forgotten or hitherto ignored knowledge. Whose voice is heard and whose knowledge counts, in essence, is therefore a call to facilitate a more inclusive process of knowledge creation. For instance, while discussions on intellectual decolonization underly all four schools of DS, it still begets the question ‘what research methods are best suited to advance the ‘de-colonial’ imagination of ‘Development’ especially when knowledge-production is still influenced by privileges of race?

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