
June 6, 2024
Theory tells us that democracies should become more equal. So why are they still so unequal? Gideon Coolin, Emanuele Sapienza, and Andy Sumner on their new UNDP paper that unpicks the politics of inequality.
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How did female MPs in Kenya convince colleagues to support anti-FGM laws?
May 17, 2024
This post was first published on the Africa at LSE blog The creation of an anti-female genital mutilation law in Kenya shows how men can become supportive of issues that affect women, writes Regina Mwatha. While it may not always seem like men are supportive of women’s agendas, there are three pertinent things to consider when discussing men’s thinking on
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A model policy report on the UK’s International Future
May 9, 2024
This post was first published on the LSE’s International Development blog Just been reading The World in 2040: Renewing the UK’s Approach to International Affairs. In many ways, it’s a model of how to write a good policy report with a chance of impact. Here’s why: It’s short: 14 pages, with a one page Exec Sum that might actually be
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Is it AM or BAM? Spotting good adaptive management v bad adaptive management
May 7, 2024
The Adaptive Management discussion is dominated by donors, think tanks and academics, none of whom can really be described as ‘practitioners’. So I’ve learned a lot from working with Jane Lonsdale, one of the few exceptions. She’s an Exfamer turned big aid implementer, has run with AM work in Tanzania, Myanmar and now Papua New Guinea and is DT Global’s
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Youth Protests: where have they come from? Where are they going?
May 3, 2024
Guest post from Camila Teixeira, Policy Specialist at UNICEF In recent years, more young people have been engaging in collective protest to advocate for causes that matter to them. From fighting racism to defending peace, from climate strikes to demands for better education or employment, these demonstrations are powerful expressions of youth agency over the issues shaping their lives, communities,
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Forgetting Rana Plaza
April 24, 2024
Guest post from Naomi Hossain, from SOAS, on the 11th anniversary of the tragedy in Bangladesh Despite heated and even violent contention around monuments and memorials in recent years, the politics of memory are still seen as largely symbolic. Apparel industry workers can tell you that this is wrong: memorials matter materially. For survivors of the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster,
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GELI Stories: Moving fast and working with Unusual Suspects to Reform the Military in the Republic of Guinea
April 9, 2024
In the last (for now) of this series of podcasts with UN and other aid leaders making change happen on the frontline, I talked to the UN’s Anthony Ohemeng-Boamah. Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa · GELI Stories – Anthony Ohemeng-Boamah on winning military reform in a nation returning to democracy Duncan: Welcome to GELI Stories. I’ve got with me Anthony
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A (tough) love letter to the Open Movement
March 27, 2024
Guest post from Warren Krafchik and Peter Evans The ‘Open Movement’ is 20 years old. This reflection is written with love – one of us was deeply involved from the start, the other a fellow traveller looking from the sidelines. Tough love from firm friends, if you will. As we wrote, the think piece got bouncier and longer as it
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Could Activists Do Better at Resisting Backlash?
March 15, 2024
Been having a series of conversations on the general theme of ‘backlash’. Some thoughts: Background: a lot of activist thinking is predicated on being on the front foot – this is a law, policy, spending commitment or social norm that we want to change. Lots of case studies, toolkits and experience on how to do that – problem and power
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GELI Stories – Taking Risks as a Leader to protect child rights in Syria
March 13, 2024
In the fifth of this series of podcasts with UN and other aid leaders making change happen on the frontline, I talked to Panos Moumtzis, who now leads the GELI programme, about some top influencing he did in a previous job as UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa · GELI Stories – Panos Moumtzis on how
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GELI Stories – How to get Early Childhood Development into the SDGs (with a bit of help from Shakira)
March 6, 2024
In the fourth of this series of podcasts with UN and other aid leaders making change happen on the frontline, I talked to UNICEF’s Pia Britto about how she and a group of colleagues managed to include Early Childhood Development in the SDGs. Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa · GELI Stories – Pia Brito on getting Early Childhood Development into
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Thirty Years of Anti-Corruption: A Personal Reflection
March 5, 2024
Journalist, activist and anti-corruption legend John Githongo reflects on the shifting story of anti-corruption in Africa, from Western models to new agendas. This is an edited-down version of a piece published in The Elephant. Corruption, however you define it, is so integral to the way human commercial and political affairs play out that all major global developments in its regard
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