The ‘project’ is intrinsic to modern international development – yet this basic form of organising our work is not something neutral or benign, says Caitlin Scott, but has real, often distorting, effects on the way development organisations think and act.
Why is inequality so sticky? The political obstacles to a fairer economy
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.
Inadequate climate action helped fuel Scotland’s political turmoil: here’s how credibility can be rebuilt
Ditching a supposedly legally binding emissions reduction target helped to drive Scotland’s First Minister out of office. Whoever is in charge next must rekindle the leadership that, just two years ago, saw Scotland become the first nation to commit funds to address losses and damages caused by climate change, says Jamie Livingstone.
Four ways to build youth activism for peace: insights from one UK student’s campaigning on Yemen
Oxfam campaigner Yasmin Turner on how she is working to draw attention to the crisis in Yemen and pressure the UK government to stop the British arms sales fuelling the conflict – from hosting a photographic exhibition to writing to her local MP.
Using elections to amplify people’s voices
Elections can be an important influencing opportunity for people living in poverty. Rodrigo Barahona and Isabel Crabtree-Condor share what Oxfam has learned from our work in four countries. Elections are a defining feature of democracies. They are a formal moment when the average person on the street can exercise power by voting for the public policies they want to see. Issues …
What does populism mean for NGO policy and practice?
At the start of our Evidence for Influencing conference in October, Senior Researcher Martin Walsh presented Oxfam’s research on the politics of populism and its implications for NGO policy and practice, including the use of evidence for influencing. Here he summarises and reflects on the findings of that research, published at the end of last year as an Oxfam America Research …
Brexit and trade: An opportunity to do better
Pooja Mall explores how Brexit can have a positive impact on trade policy and why it’s important to development. Over a decade ago, Oxfam’s ‘Make Trade Fair’ campaign made the argument that many people in developing countries have been made worse off because the rules are rigged against them. It centred on eliminating the practice of dumping highly subsidised developed-country …