Society & Development research projects

Members of the Society & Development research group are currently engaged in the following research projects.

The list below may also include a small number of archived projects. In due course, these will be listed separately.

Changing Identification and Alliances in the Horn of Africa: This research focuses on the social construction of ethnic identity, and on its changing importance in state structures and policies and to individual lives in the Horn of Africa. Research has focused on filling out understandings of the decentralization process in Ethiopia by exploring why and how the Konso people were able to qualify for special 'wereda' status. The research has examined how the decentralization process has impacted on the importance of an ethnic dimension to processes of self-identification, and the extent to which ethnic decentralization has been accompanied by a rise in ethno-nationalism and more chauvinistic and exclusive conceptions of ethnic identity.
Culture and development: Geographies, actors and paradigms: Research under this theme covers changing development thinking, the application of culturally inflected development policy, the position of Andean indigenous peoples in Culture & Development thinking, and critiques of notions of social capital.
Development and Postcolonial governance: Research on this topic covers a number of related themes. Firstly, the ways in national identities have been forged in a context of social diversity, and uneven state sovereignty. Arising out of this has been an on-going interest in examining how geographical knowledges and techniques contribute to the practices and meanings of statehood. In a related field, recent writings have examined the diverse phases and types of neoliberal development, and their impact on the nature of politics, governance and citizen experiences in Ecuador, and Latin America.
Development Harnessing 'Tradition' - Uneasy Partnerships: This area of research has developed out of engagement with the Marena Research Project at Sussex University, and from the longer-term interests in the role of indigenous ritual and political leaders in and political leaders in natural resource management (NRM) in Africa. More specifically, work has been done to study the way in which NGOs (but also government development organizations) have recently turned to 'indigenous' or 'traditional' leaders, such as chiefs or councils of elders, because they see them as providing a convenient vehicle for successful and sustainable NRM.
Geographies of national identities: space and social difference: This research examined two dimensions of national identities, in the context of postcolonial Ecuador.
Geographies of Worker Empowerment in the New Economy: Labour Market Intermediaries in the Call Centre Industry (India and UK): This comparative study of call centre workers in the UK and India examines: (I) the lived experiences of call centre workers across the work-home boundary; (II) labour mobility patterns of call centre workers; and (III) the role of labour market intermediaries in improving labour market outcomes for call centre workers in different national contexts.
Landscape, Culture and Development: Konso, Ethiopia: Interests in development issues and in the history, culture and politics of Africa come together in an in-depth, ethnographic study of the landscape and people of Konso, in southern Ethiopia. The human processes that have constructed the intensive agriculture of Konso, on a range of mountains that rise out of the Rift Valley, are examined. This work has examined the social institutions that organize land and labour, and has identified that Konso ritual leaders, previously thought of by anthropologists as priests, also play a key role in the construction of this intensive agricultural landscape.
Localising International Law: Examining the Public Outreach Strategies of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovin: This project is a two-year investigation into the establishment of the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its outreach strategy to local organisations.
Political economy of development in India: Research in this area develops out of long-standing interests in the political economy of development processes in the Indian sub-continent. This has especially focused on the social and environmental impacts of economic development processes, and how these have been contested at a variety of scales, from local grassroots mobilisation to national policy dialogues.
Political transnationalism and development networks for indigenous people in Andean Ecuador and Bolivia: Research on this topic covers a number of related questions. One is concerned with exploring the meaning, nature and significance of the transnational networks through which development policy oriented to Andean indigenous populations was generated, funded and implemented. A second theme has to do with the nature of transnational political geographies, and their socio-spatial structures and the nature of agency. A third theme is concerned with the changing nature of professionalism in development, associated with neoliberalism and hybrid development institutions.
Sustainable butterfly farming and collecting in Papua New Guinea: The island of New Guinea contains thousands of insect species many of which are eagerly sought by collectors, especially in USA, Germany and Japan. In PNG, out of the 820 known butterfly species, over half are endemic. To meet market demand, insect farming and trading has been carried out for the past 26 years, but little research has been done on its institutional structure, ecological impact or socio-economic effects. This project explores the potential of researched guidelines for better and more co-ordinated policies, and more effective practices by the insect purchasing agencies, in order to generate more substantial rural income benefits and sustainable biodiversity outcomes.
The non-DAC states and the role of public perspectives in shaping the future of development cooperation: An important area of study of the so-called 'traditional' donors concerns public perceptions of foreign aid activities. Key issues include how donor governments and NGOs seek to engage the public; how donor publics perceive the moral and political purposes of foreign aid; and how they understand its impacts and consequences for both donors and recipients. However, this area of enquiry has not, as yet, been directed toward the ‘non-DAC’ development partners.