Debating Development Research

17/09/2024

Finland’s Development Aid Plunges amid Far-Right Take-Over of Policy Agendas

By Eija Ranta and Martta Kaskinen / Part of the European Development Policy Outlook Series

The boost in popularity of the populist right-wing Finns party has meant a bumpy ride for Finland’s development affairs. With far-right extremists in the government, Finland’s development aid is plunging. In this blog post, we recall the historical peculiarities of Finland’s path from an aid recipient to becoming an international development donor and shed light on the contemporary challenges and controversies of Finland’s stance to development issues, demonstrating a drastic change to earlier commitments.

03/09/202426/06/2026

The Future of Development Studies – Further Discussions Needed

By Anisa Muzaffar and Sana Kainat Moyeen

The recent workshop “Unity in Diversity? Reflecting on the Future of Development Studies provided a fascinating platform for debates that brought to life the four broad schools of thought underpinning contemporary Development Studies. The four broad schools of thought referenced here are drawn from a paper by Andy Sumner in the European Journal of Development Research, with the diagram below visualising these respective schools. It was compelling to see how the discussions evolved within these four broad schools, revealing a rich tapestry of perspectives. Despite the diversity of opinions, the conversations underscored the critical importance of these debates in shaping the future of Development Studies discourse.

27/08/202427/08/2024

Women and Women’s Quota in Urban Local Bodies in Nagaland: A Saga of Struggle and Success

By Amrita Saikia

In June 2024, the Nagaland state in India’s Northeast held the Urban Local Body (ULB) elections after a gap of two decades. According to reports, out of 278 seats in civic bodies, women won 102 seats. The numbers indicate how women’s quota can pave the way for women into male-dominated political arenas in patriarchal societies. In 2023, two Naga women were elected to the 60-member Nagaland Legislative Assembly for the first time since state formation in 1963, which was hailed as “historic.” These positive developments can be considered major steps in Naga women’s decades of struggle for their constitutional rights.

20/08/202420/08/2024

Danish Development Cooperation Caught between Old Tropes and New Realities

By Adam Moe Fejerskov / Part of the European Development Policy Outlook Series

Although strong in absolute growth, Danish development cooperation remains caught between the fragmentation and lack of focus that comes from pursuing an overload of priorities – some of them fueled by domestic politics and circumstance – and the new realities of both multiple crises and a strengthened Global South, conversely demanding strategic clearsight.

13/08/202413/08/2024

Overseas Development Aid in Ireland – How Does it Compare to other EU Countries and What Can We Expect for the Future?

By Pieternella Pieterse / Part of the European Development Policy Outlook Series

Ireland’s overseas development aid programme is, and always has been, a little different from fellow long-term EU members and neighbouring countries. Many of Ireland’s neighbours have histories of colonial occupation of counties in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Their aid programmes often continue to reflect these ties, and the reparations many countries sought to deliver after their former colonies’ independence. As a country that was long colonised, not colonising, Ireland’s development aid programme started from a place of empathy and solidarity, with an acute sense of having experienced a population decimating famine 150 years earlier.