Global Development Institute

‘There cannot be a corridor without Türkiye!’

Read the new open-access paper by GDI's
@sethschindler.bsky.social and co-authors Sırma Altun and Mustafa Kemal Bayırbağ concerning the spatial component of Türkiye’s foreign policy: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

"The expansion of surveillance in Central Asia has unfolded not as a neutral process of digital modernization but as a politically charged response to regime insecurity, mobility, and shifting geopolitical alignments."

Read the new open-access paper by Arash Beidollahkhani here: bit.ly/4qWNErU

Picture of a full conference room at the Domestic Revenue Mobilization: progress and challenges event.

On Feb 10, UNU-WIDER, OECD Development Centre & Univ of Manchester @globaldevinst.bsky.social brought researchers & policymakers together in Paris to discuss domestic resource mobilization (DRM)—what we know & what remains unresolved.

How to get away with mass murder: 4 tactics Ethiopia used to hide Tigray atrocities from the world The violence in Tigray was structured, targeted and sustained.

The Tigray crisis remains largely invisible to the world.

"Factors such as race and the peripherality of the region made the Tigray conflict a blind spot in global geopolitics. But these explanations are not sufficient."

In @uk.theconversation.com by @tekgw.bsky.social: bit.ly/4qvJzux

🎙️ Uma Kothari from @globaldevinst.bsky.social explores the role of stories and storytelling in research and research impact in this quick soundbite.

🎧 Listen here:
buff.ly/bY94Id0

Text reads: University of Manchester School of Environment, Education and Development Inaugural Lectures: Prof Johan Oldekop and Prof Michael Wigelsworth Wednesday 18 March 2026 Cordingley Theatre, Humanities Bridgeford Street, University of Manchester

You are warmly invited to join us on Wed 18 March for inaugural lectures from Prof Johan Oldekop of @globaldevinst.bsky.social and Prof Michael Wigelsworth of @educationuom.bsky.social 👉 www.tickettailor.com/events/schoo...

Reform coalitions can bridge the gap between community and academia - LSE Impact Universities as global institutions face a disconnect with their localities, can urban reform coalitions can play a key role in repairing this relationship.

💥New | Reform coalitions can bridge the gap between community and academia

✍️ Diana Mitlin

#AcademicSky #UrbanStudies #Universities @africancities.bsky.social @globaldevinst.bsky.social

An upcoming online workshop invites paper submissions that advance empirical, theoretical, and policy‑relevant research on the developmental implications of servicisation in the Global South.

'Services and the Global South: Structural Transformation, Inequality and Development': bit.ly/3LU1LQv

New chapter ahead! Joining @globaldevinst.bsky.social @manchester.ac.uk as Lecturer (Assistant Professor) of Development Economics. Deeply grateful for an amazing 3.5 years at @ifpri.org - bittersweet goodbye, exciting times ahead.

Call for papers: Envisioning Labour-Led Urban Development - Global Development Institute Blog CALL FOR PAPERS Workshop: Envisioning Labour-Led Urban Development Global Development Institute, University of Manchester Thursday to Friday, 23-24 April 2026 Please find below a full description of t...

blog.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/call-for-pap... Really interesting workshop being organised by Debolina Majumder and Michaela Collord @globaldevinst.bsky.social in April 2026 on labour-led urban development. Deadline of 31 Jan for bio and abstract!

COP30 and Just Transition in the South: Who Will Pay the Social Price? By Jiayi Wang and Mengjie Xu When COP30 ended in the Amazonian city of Belém, much of the global media focus stayed locked on a familiar question: would the final agreement clearly call for the “ph…

🔎 In our latest blog, @globaldevinst.bsky.social's Jiayi Wang and Mengjie Xu argue that the just transition in the South envisioned by COP30 is jeopardised "if the new green economy is governed in the same top-down way as the old one"
www.developmentresearch.eu?p=2499

YouTube video by Global Development Institute GDI Conference: What is the future for global development?

📢 Registration is now open for the GDI conference on the future of global development.

Join us in Manchester 13-14 April 2026 for two days of discussions around the conference's themes, which you can learn more about in this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9Ly...

Register for free: bit.ly/4pVymmK

📢 Call for papers: Envisioning Labour-Led Urban Development by @globaldevinst.bsky.social
📍 @manchester.ac.uk / hybrid
📆 23-24th April 2026

⏰ Abstracts by 31st January

Find out more: buff.ly/r3tlxKt

We are excited to bring you a new mini-pod series from our Research for Transformation Lab 🎧

In this episode, GDI's Uma Kothari explores the role of stories and storytelling in research and research impact.

Listen here: www.buzzsprout.com/2017560/epis...

Why Iran’s crisis is Russia’s problem For Russia, what happens in Iran is no longer a peripheral concern. It is directly tied to Europe’s power balance and the course of the war in Ukraine

Why Iran's crisis is Russia's problem - a new piece by Arash Beidollahkhani in IPS: www.ips-journal.eu/topics/forei...

Friends not Foes? Why Development Economics and Development Studies still need each other
By Professor @andypsumner.bsky.social, @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social via @globaldevinst.bsky.social
buff.ly/HjYdqdJ

Join @globaldevinst.bsky.social for the final Community of Practice session on personal, community & organisational resilience.

This session looks at how different forms of resilience connect — and why that matters.
📅 27 Jan | Open to all

⏰ 8am BST: buff.ly/smXKosx
⏰ 2pm BST: buff.ly/4SYmkfJ

In a new open-access paper, Bina Agarwal traces progress in reducing gender inequality from the mid-1970s onwards, arguing that tackling hidden barriers will require shifts from individual to group approaches.

Read here: bit.ly/49Kx0Fp

Iranian Government facing collapse - ABC listen The Iranian Government is buckling under the pressure of the demonstrations and is in danger of collapsing.

GDI research fellow Arash Beidollahkhani talked to ABC's Isabella Higgins on this morning's broadcast about the ongoing protests in Iran: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

Arash discusses what is different about this moment, and what it means for the regime's grip on power.

On Weds 11th Feb join the @hcrinstitute.bsky.social for a film screening and talk on the subject of 'The 2019 Sudanese Revolution till Now'

Screening: Documentary ‘Sudan, Remember Us’

Speaker: GDI's Hamid Khalafallah will discuss Sudan's evolution to date

Register here: bit.ly/4pI3W7r

A new publication by GDI fellow Arash Beidollahkhani considers how authoritarian regimes leverage innovation as a strategic tool for policy adaptation and sustainable development while preserving political control.

Read here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

📣 Welcome Professor @goodfellowtom.bsky.social to @manchester.ac.uk to take up a dual role as Professor of Urban Development at the @globaldevinst.bsky.social and CEO of the @africancities.bsky.social ✨
buff.ly/TVWec0L

Text reads: Welcome Tom Goodfellow Professor of Urban Development and incoming CEO of the African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC) "It's such a privilege to be taking up this position in the most dynamic centre for global development research and teaching in the UK - and at the same time to have the opportunity to lead ACRC into a new phase."

We're delighted to welcome @goodfellowtom.bsky.social to @manchester.ac.uk to take up a dual role as Prof of Urban Development @globaldevinst.bsky.social & CEO of @africancities.bsky.social – a position he will take over from Diana Mitlin in August this year 👉 www.african-cities.org/welcoming-pr...

Iran protests have put the country’s political system on trial The question for many Iranians appears to be not whether their political system can be repaired, but whether continuing to live under it is viable at all.

"The demonstrations signal a deep challenge to a political order that many Iranians see as incapable of delivering stability, dignity or a viable future"

A new article in @uk.theconversation.com by GDI research fellow Arash Beidollahkhani examines the growing unrest in Iran: bit.ly/3L5Q3BX

In a new essay, Seth Schindler (@sethschindler.bsky.social) and Jack Taggart argue that today’s tech billionaires are no longer operating above politics as part of a unified global elite, but are increasingly tied to state power in the US, exerting considerable influence...

Read: bit.ly/4qGB8Nr

📢 Call for papers: Envisioning Labour-Led Urban Development by @globaldevinst.bsky.social
📍 @manchester.ac.uk / hybrid
📆 23-24th April 2026

⏰ Abstracts by 31st January

Find out more: buff.ly/r3tlxKt

Don't forget to join us next Tuesday 16 December for our last Community of Practice of the semester!

Over the past months we've explored many dimensions of resilience. In this final session, we'll discuss how they intersect and interact.

All welcome!
Sign up here: bit.ly/4rNZRRg

A new book by Seth Schindler (@sethschindler.bsky.social) and Steve Rolf argues that global capitalism is being reshaped by two major and mutually reinforcing trends.

How are these trends informing the spiralling rivalry between the US and China?

You can read open-access here: bit.ly/4a8pExm

Reflecting on progress at COP30: Interview with José A. Puppim de Oliveira - Global Development Institute Blog Last month, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) hosted its annual conference of the parties (COP) in Belém, Brazil. Known as COP30, this year’s climate summit took place...

Known as COP30, this year’s UNFCCC climate summit took place a decade after the milestone Paris Agreement at COP21.

To make sense of COP30’s negotiations and outcomes, we spoke to Jose A. Puppim de Oliveira, who spent time in Belém attending workshops and following negotiations: bit.ly/4pqxFlU

Shifting Contours of Conflict: War and Cross-Border Migration in the Horn of Africa - Global Development Institute Blog by Tekle Weldemichel (Lecturer in Environment and Development at GDI) and Hussein M. Sulieman (Research Fellow at GDI)  The Horn of Africa (HoA) has, in recent years, been going through one of the mos...

The Horn of Africa has been going through one of the most acute episodes of political and humanitarian crisis in its modern history.

@tekgw.bsky.social and Hussein Sulieman write about the devastating wars in Ethiopia and Sudan, and how these have reshaped regional dynamics.

🔗 bit.ly/4oxE5OQ