91福利

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just issued the

This research represents a global consensus on climate mitigation, sources of emissions, progress towards meeting targets, and the impact of national climate pledges on long-term emissions goals.

The report cites PAIS scholars, including six papers by Simon Caney and four by Caroline Kuzemko. Their work explores, and highlights the importance of, ethical considerations and political institutions respectively.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow Seb Rumsby has written an article for The Conversation, titled "Economic migration: the root problem is not smugglers but global inequality."

This piece is based on his ground-breaking new research on the everyday politics of undocumented Vietnamese migration to the UK, which is being funded by the Independent Social Research Foundation. Seb says: "Ever since the tragic deaths of 27 migrants in the UK-France channel in December 2021, I've been burning to write something in defence of economic migration, which is much maligned in our mainstream media. I want to join the dots between my own research of undocumented migrants with other people's research exposing the massive inequalities of our global economic system. From here, I can show how economic migrants have just as much right to seek a better life as asylum seekers."

"Economic migration is not going to go away - I'm afraid it will only be a matter of time before the next dinghy sinks in the English Channel. On the contrary, it's only going to get bigger with climate change making more of the planet uninhabitable. We can challenge the familiar narratives of 'they're coming to take us over' or 'there's not enough space for them all', but only if we appreciate how our economic system creates such crazy inequalities that makes economic migration inevitable."

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Oz Hassan has published a piece with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he was previously a Visiting Scholar. Reassessing the European Strategy in Afghanistan analyses the EU鈥檚 approach to reconstruction efforts and democracy assistance following the 2001 invasion and shows why the EU approach was deeply flawed. It argues that the EU will now have to accept lower policy ambitions following the 2021 defeat and start adjusting to a post-American world - available here:

The Department of Politics and International Studies (PAIS) at the 91福利 is delighted to announce that Professor Shirin Rai, Professor of International Political Economy, has been elected to a Fellowship of the British Academy.

This prestigious award recognises outstanding research across the Humanities and Social Sciences. In 2021, the British Academy elected 52 UK Fellows; the 91福利's press release can be accessed here.

On receiving her award, Professor Rai said: 鈥淚 am delighted to have been elected as a Fellow of the British Academy and look forward to working with colleagues in the Academy - particularly in the Politics and International Relations Section - through my research and impact work to address issues of international development, social (in)equalities and innovative methodologies. I thank colleagues in PAIS and the wider gender and politics community for supporting my work鈥�.

Professor Nick Vaughan-Williams, Head of PAIS, commented: 鈥淧rofessor Rai鈥檚 election to a Fellowship of the British Academy reflects her long-standing status as a world-leading researcher in gender, political economy, and development. Her Directorship of the 91福利 Interdisciplinary Research Centre for International Development (WICID) – hosted in PAIS – is a beacon of excellence across research, education, and impact in the Social Sciences at-large. Colleagues and I are proud of Professor Rai鈥檚 scholarly achievements, but PAIS is also very fortunate to benefit from her academic leadership and warm collegiality. Her tireless efforts to support early career scholars and embed principles of equality, diversity, and inclusion have been transformational in the Department. Very many congratulations, Shirin鈥�.

The PAIS Department is home to two Fellows of the British Academy: Professor Shirin Rai and Professor Stuart Elden. 

Professor Franklyn Lisk has recently published a research study, carried out on behalf of the African Development Bank.

This research study was commissioned by the Office of the President, African Development Bank (AfDB), as a 鈥榢nowledge product鈥� on a new model of a geographically demarcated and integrated agro-industrial ecosystem that the Bank had developed and termed Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone(SAPZ). As the consultant selected for the study, I was required to provide relevant information concerning planning and implementation and policy guidance that can be used by the Bank for the design and programming of the SAPZ as a flagship spatial solution aimed at agricultural transformation and rural development in its 54 member-states across Africa. The study frames the SAPZ model within the institutional mandate of the AfDB as a regional development financing agency; defines and explains key conceptual and strategic (legal, institutional, regulatory and policy) issues; makes use of a political economy framework to illustrate critical factors involved in implementation of the model, such as the role of the state and its engagement with private investors; and presents and evaluates empirical evidence from 8 different country case-studies drawn from existing agro-industrial experiences in the region, as the basis for recommendations pertaining to drivers of success and common pitfalls to avoid. The main 鈥榯akeaways鈥� from the study are that the SAPZ model has great potential to stimulate structural change with employment opportunities, promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, aid transitioning to internationally-competitive and green industrial development, and support regional trade and integration.

You can read the research study here.