WIDERAngle

Expert commentary from our network

How India’s economy has fared under ten years of Narendra Modi

More than 960 million Indians will head to the polls in the world’s biggest election between April 19 and early June. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is seeking a third term in office. And the polls suggest it will achieve this objective.If one was to go by economic growth figures alone, the Modi government’s performance has been impressive. When Modi came to power in 2014, economic growth was sluggish. A series of high-profile corruption...

Affirmative action in Brazil’s higher education system

by Rodrigo Oliveira, Edson Severnini, Alei Santos
Evidence from Brazil shows how affirmative action students in the higher education system adjust their behaviour to catch up with initially higher-performing privileged students.Affirmative action (AA) policies, aiming to address historical inequalities and promote social justice, have sparked debates across the world. Brazil, in particular, grapples with the challenges and complexities of AA, notably through Law 12,711/2012, which introduced the quota policy mandating all federal universities...

Decoding development – insights from UNU-WIDER's synthesis process and beyond

loren-joseph-unsplash
At UNU-WIDER, we undertake our work explicitly within the context of an emergent strategy designed to maximize the impact of our research findings. We operate based on a theory of change that outlines how research eventually translates into improved development outcomes for the world’s most vulnerable populations.In 2023, we published the report Towards peace, decent work, and greater equality to guide policy efforts to achieve the United Nations Agenda 2030. This report synthesizes the key...

74 Blogpost

Research Brief
The prolonged effects of terrorism

Terrorist violence has a profound influence on social attitudes, including trust in governmental institutions and attitudes towards migration and civil freedoms. Acts of terrorism cause citizens to experience a complex range of negative emotions...

Blog
Development aid cuts will hit fragile countries hard, could fuel violent conflict

Fragile and least developed countries have had their development assistance cut drastically, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation...

Blog
Why are frontiers and borderlands more conflict prone—and what have institutions got to do with this?

According to a recent OECD Report, borderlands experience a greater intensity of violence, especially violence targeted against the state. While there...

Blog
Voices from the ground – protracted displacement economies
Placeholder

Many displaced people around the world are in limbo—unable to return home or go anywhere else. Our surveys show that displaced people have lived in...

Blog
After the war – thinking about reconstruction in Ukraine
Placeholder

Russia’s military involvement in Ukraine began in March 2014 with the annexation of Crimea, but it wasn’t until February 2022 that Russia shocked the...

Blog
Four global problems that will be aggravated by the UK’s recent cuts to international aid

UK economic forecasts have improved markedly since the September 2022 mini-budget. The economic recession may now be more shallow and public borrowing...

Blog
Putting it all together: Highlights from The puzzle of peace
Placeholder

‘Understanding how to sustain peace means understanding conflict itself. Yet conflict and peacebuilding are often addressed separately’ – Patricia...

Blog
Solving the puzzle of peace: Overcoming the curse of Finland
Placeholder

At The puzzle of peace conference in Helsinki, Adnan Khan, Chief Economist at the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, lamented what he...

Blog
The war in Ukraine: Civilian vulnerability, resilience, and resistance
Placeholder

The current and future civilian impacts of the war in Ukraine are immense. This column argues that the levels of vulnerability and resistance of...

Blog
From conflict preventor to security actor: European Peace Facility, Ukraine, and the evolution of EU’s role

Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine has catalysed the European Union (EU) — criticised as a paper tiger yet acknowledged to evolve through crises —...

Blog
Why Russian brutality may backfire: A political violence perspective
Placeholder

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been fast shifting into a new phase, one many observers have noted is marked by increasing levels of Russian...

Blog
Superpowers, super-spoilers, and hybrid warfare: What the new Cold War means for global cooperation
Placeholder

Last week we woke up to a conflict that had echoes of the Second World War, the Cold War, and the last two decades of hybrid conflict all mixed into...

Blog
Learning from conflicts past: What recent history of Abkhazia tells us about the future of Donetsk and Luhansk
Placeholder

The recognition of disputed territories as independent states rarely brings underlying conflicts to an end. Instead, fully, and partially, recognized...

Blog
How will the Russia-Ukraine war be fought?: External support and insurgency tactics
Placeholder

The Ukrainian state, personified by its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has been heroic and has surprised many by its 'stiff resistance'. However...

Blog
The conflict in Ukraine - the role of civilians
Placeholder

While there is much to discuss about the geopolitics of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, let's not forget the men, women and children of Ukraine who...

Blog
COVID-19 and the Global South — From crisis response to sustainable development
Placeholder

Around the world, the pandemic, and the measures taken to address it, have had far reaching effects on poverty, inequality, and governance. And even...

Displaying 16 of 74 results