Category Archives: International development

UK development aid: First major government speech

Posted on June 5, 2010 | 1 Comment

The UK Secretary of State for International development, Andrew Mitchell, gave his first major, setpiece speech in government on Thursday. The debate starts up again.

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Posted in Conflict & peace, International development

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Water, conflict and peace

Posted on June 3, 2010 | 5 Comments

Water is a basic condition of life. We depend upon it for daily use, for agriculture, for industry and infrastructure. A shortage, an excess and deficient quality can all undermine welfare, impair human security, hold back economic development and in some circumstances generate conflict. The London-based Foreign Policy Centre has published Tackling the World Water Crisis, an edited collection of articles in which mine looks at the peace and security issues around water. Continue reading →

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Posted in Climate change, Conflict & peace, International development

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After the UK election (2): Three questions on international development

Posted on May 20, 2010 | Leave a comment

What does the advent of the new government mean for UK policy on international development? Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, International development, The economic crunch

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After the UK election: international development and foreign policy

Posted on May 16, 2010 | 2 Comments

So the dust has settled, the first peacetime coalition in seven decades is in office and the work begins. What about UK international development policy under the new blue and yellow colours?

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Ashed up: reflections in Baku

Posted on April 20, 2010 | Leave a comment

Well, like millions of others, the volcano has stranded me. Here in Baku for what was meant to be a flying visit, weighing the odds of waiting for Frankfurt to open (en route to London) or hoping there might be a place on  a train and boat from Madrid (reachable via Istanbul), and just hoping for a fresh wind to blow (which is sort of ironic since Baku is the City of Winds), I am taking the opportunity to look around and glean some impressions. Continue reading →

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“Militarising aid” vs. “Running away from conflict”

Posted on January 27, 2010 | 3 Comments

The battle lines are starting to be drawn over how development assistance and peacebuilding do or don’t support each other, or can or can’t be made to work together, and about whether bad governance and insecurity are the right targets for international development policy and assistance. Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, International development

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Haiti and beyond: preparing for the next disaster

Posted on January 22, 2010 | 2 Comments

One part of the tragedy in Haiti is how unprepared the country was to deal with the earthquake on 12 January. Yet the risk is well established. And Haiti is equally vulnerable to the equally visible risk of hurricanes. Haiti is not alone in this lack of readiness and the problems about getting help to the survivors make an urgent case for a new humanitarian business model that emphasises preparation instead of depending entirely on emergency aid flown in after the disaster hits. Continue reading →

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Posted in International development

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Copenhagen: time to re-think? Or just keep thinking!

Posted on December 6, 2009 | Leave a comment

As thousands of negotiators, activists, diplomats, scientists, politicians and journalists start pouring into Copenhagen for the climate summit – formally said, the 15th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – the question has been raised whether we should want them to succeed or fail. Which, of course, begs the next question: what is success at Copenhagen?

So is Copenhagen not the time to seal a new climate deal after all? Is it time for a re-think? My own view is that it’s best never to stop thinking, then you don’t have to make the effort to start up again. Continue reading →

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Posted in Climate change, Conflict & peace, International development

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Tobin tax: is this the way to meet the climate change bill?

Posted on November 16, 2009 | Leave a comment

Tobin or not to bin? Gordon Brown’s apparently sudden conversion to supporting a tax on financial transactions – initially proposed by James Tobin – has, if nothing else, put new energy into the related debates about the banking sector, paying off the costs of the economic crunch, and financing basic social needs. But will it fly? And should it? There are several strong reasons why but there is a negative side that we also need to attend to. Continue reading →

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Posted in Climate change, International development, The economic crunch

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Climate change, security and development

Posted on October 29, 2009 | Leave a comment

The problem about the climate change issue – one problem among many – is that political leaders and ordinary citizens alike, as well as institutions large and small in all walks of life, have to act on it before we know everything there is to be known about it. So a lot of the argument comes down to risk. One of the key risks is increased insecurity and violent conflict. As we trace this risk, how should it shape the response we want on climate change from governments and ourselves? Continue reading →

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Posted in Climate change, Conflict & peace, International development

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