International Development Department publishes its 60th Anniversary Annual Report
This special 2022 - 2024 report, showcases milestones, research, teaching updates, partnerships, and staff changes.
It has been – and continues to be – an extraordinary time for the world. Having come through a once in a lifetime (we hope, but do not assume!) global pandemic, we are confronted again by the problems that never went away: of growing global inequality, debt, geopolitics and conflict, authoritarianism and populism, and of course, the existential threat of the climate crisis and deep unknowns of what artificial intelligence will bring. Almost sixty years since IDD was established, it is striking that the questions we ask as students of international development are only getting more, not less, relevant to understanding the human condition.
This anniversary report provides a snapshot of the diverse activities and initiatives led by IDD colleagues, students, and alumni at the forefront of global debates.
Highlights include: Dr Danielle Beswick’s work on public engagement with UK Parliament; Dr Emily Scott’s research on ‘localization’ and Professor Fiona Nunan’s efforts to build adaptive fisheries governance capacity in Malawi and Uganda.
Other standout projects include Professor Jonathan Fisher’s research on internet shutdowns in West Africa; Dr Kailing Xie’s #MeToo in China exhibition; Dr Sameen Ali’s Education, Justice, and Memory Network project; Dr Sandra Pertek’s Making Aid Work for Displaced Women project; Professor David Hudson and Dr Soomin Oh’s work with the Development Engagement Lab; Professor Paul Jackson’s project Mapping Mental Health Resources for Young People in the Colombian Pacific Region – among many others.
IDD is a wonderfully vibrant and diverse place to study and teach. IDD is so lucky in terms of our students, whom we consistently enjoy teaching, learning from, saying goodbye to after graduation, and staying in touch with afterwards. At the postgraduate level, across our Masters, MPA, and distance learning options we have over four hundred students each year.
In IDD, students benefit from a highly personalised experience, supported by its personal tutoring system and enriched by unparalleled opportunities such as the MPA study tours to destinations like Dubai, France, and Berlin, organised impeccably by Adrian Campbell and Elena Denezhkina.
Its undergraduate programme also continues to thrive and Dr Claire Mcloughlin shares insights from the undergraduate study tour to Bosnia and Herzegovina – a stunning and thought-provoking country offering valuable lessons on post-conflict reconstruction and development.
IDD is also home to a dynamic and inclusive community of doctoral researchers from around the world. The cohort shares highlights of their exciting work, including Jasmine Burnley’s research unravelling the climate change-conflict nexus through a World Bank postgraduate placement; Jingwen Jiang’s HR internship at Lenovo headquarters in Beijing, China; and Mayumi Fuchi’s ongoing public engagement and collaboration efforts to build bridges between academics, policy makers, and practitioners in her research on accountability and safeguarding in the aid sector and beyond.
The year-long celebration of the Department’s 60th anniversary culminated in a major event at the Bramall Music Building in mid-2024. This featured a vibrant panel discussion with Dr Kamna Patel (Professor of Critical Development Studies, UCL); former Heads of Department – Emeritus Professor Richard Batley, Professor Jonathan Fisher and Professor Fiona Nunan – and Dr Zenobia Ismail (GSDRC Helpdesk Manager), exploring the past, present, and future of development studies. This was held alongside the official launch of IDD’s flagship new textbook, The Politics of Development, which tackles global inequality and justice from the ground up. Anniversary activities also included a poster exhibition curated by Dr Philip Amis, showcasing six decades of influential research and publications, and a special seminar series organised by Dr Kailing Xie reflecting on IDD’s evolving role in global development.
Recent publications highlighted included:
- Petra Alderman’s Branding Authoritarian Nations: Political Legitimation and Strategic National Myths in Military-Ruled Thailand
- Brock Bersaglio and Charis Enns’ Settler Ecologies: The Enduring Nature of Settler Colonialism in Kenya
- Willem Van Eeekelen’s ICT and Rural Development in the Global South.
Founded in 1964 as the Institute of Local Government Studies, IDD began by training public administrators from newly independent nations, marking a significant post-colonial moment. Over the decades, the department has expanded its focus from local governance to global issues such as gender and inclusion, conflict, security, and environmental challenges, the politics of development and democracy, aid policy and leadership, while maintaining strong partnerships with governments, NGOs, and civil society. Today, IDD emphasises critical engagement with inequalities of power and the legacies of colonialism, reaffirming its commitment to authentic global partnerships and shaping development thinking for the future.