Understanding Faith-based Organisations in Pakistan

Nida Kirmani is a research fellow in the Religions and Development Research Programme.  Her primary research interests are related to religion, gender and development in South Asia. This article outlines current research into the characteristics and activities of faith-based organisations in Karachi, Pakistan, carried out as one component of the Religions and Development Research Programme.  … Continue reading “Understanding Faith-based Organisations in Pakistan”

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Afghanistan and the resource curse

Oliver Walton is a research fellow in the Governance and Social Development Resource Centre.  His areas of interest include NGO legitimacy, civil society peacebuilding, conflict prevention, war-to-peace transitions, and Sri Lankan politics. On the surface, recent announcements of the discovery of about one trillon dollars worth of mineral resources in Afghanistan might seem like a … Continue reading “Afghanistan and the resource curse”

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Violent clashes in Kyrgyzstan

Cai Wilkinson is a Lecturer in the Centre for Russian and East European Studies who works with IDD in the State-building in Difficult Environments research group. Talk of the possibility of violent conflict in southern Kyrgyzstan, which is part of the cross-border Ferghana Valley region, is not new. The so-called “Osh events” of 1990, when … Continue reading “Violent clashes in Kyrgyzstan”

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Ten years into the Millennium Development Goals: another tipping point?

Michael Hubbard is Reader in Development Economics and a specialist in public economic management, international aid management, and agriculture policy reform. In this blog post, he comments on the mood in the run up to the Millennium Development Goals summit, 20-22 September in New York No one predicted collapse of the Soviet Union, global freeze … Continue reading “Ten years into the Millennium Development Goals: another tipping point?”

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Will the change of government affect UK aid policy?

Philip Amis is a specialist in urban poverty and institutional reform. Here at the University of Birmingham we feel we have been part of the recent UK election. The University’s Great Hall, which former students will remember as a venue for sitting exams and for graduation ceremonies, was transformed into a television studio for the … Continue reading “Will the change of government affect UK aid policy?”

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Women, Religion and Attitudes Towards Corruption

Dr Heather Marquette is leading an international team researching ‘Religion, Ethics and Attitudes Towards Corruption’, with colleagues from the Centre for West African Studies, Universities of Hyderabad (India) and Ibadan (Nigeria), and the Nigerian Institute for Social and Economic Research Since 1996, when World Bank president James Wolfensohn spoke out against the ‘cancer of corruption’, … Continue reading “Women, Religion and Attitudes Towards Corruption”

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Violence, cohesion and public space

Andrew Nickson is an expert on public administration reform, decentralisation, and the reform and regulation of service delivery.  He teaches courses in governance and development management. Last week I was working in El Salvador, a small country the size of Wales that is fast vying with Mexico to become the most dangerous country in the … Continue reading “Violence, cohesion and public space”

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Working in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti

Moustafa Osman is an expert in humanitarian relief and a part-time lecturer in IDD, teaching Introduction to Disaster Management.  He was in Haiti in January. I was in Abu Dhabi teaching Disaster Management to government officials and national NGOs when the news hit about the Haiti earthquake. I made an immediate call to my family … Continue reading “Working in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti”

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2010 is the make-or-break year for Kenyan politics

Philip Amis is a specialist in urban poverty and institutional reform. I have known Kenya for nearly thirty years since I did my PhD at the University of Nairobi. I think in some respects the coming year is absolutely critical to Kenya’s future –and given Kenya’s critical geostrategic position, it will also be critical for … Continue reading “2010 is the make-or-break year for Kenyan politics”

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