Our world is changing quickly and profoundly. Rich and poor – regardless of where they live – are faced with increasingly ‘thick’ problems and social change is more politicized and contested than ever before. And yet, most international developmen…

Development organizations have yet to come to terms with the inherent complexity of institutional change. Institutional change takes time, and the kind of institution best suited to a given situation depends on the context. In other words, a succe…

Brazil’s new-found status has led it to assume a more proactive international role: mediating in Latin American conflicts, enhancing its presence in Africa, and testing its peacekeeping capacity in Haiti and the Middle East. But Brazil’s new-found…

Contrary to what its critics think, Turkey is not ‘adrift’ but shaken by the pitch and roll resulting from a fundamental rethinking of Turkishness. Moreover, Turkey has taken on the role of mediator in the region, as was evident in its attempts to…

The 2007-08 food crisis was a stark reminder that we do not have food security under control. With this planet’s population on the rise, measures are needed to repair the global food system. This special report examines the thorny issues of food s…

The notion of a financial transaction tax has been circulating for years. The recent financial crisis and the UN Summit on MDGs is a golden opportunity to finally take action. But are governments willing to look beyond their own back gardens and c…

While attention has shifted to the economic crisis, other crises, such as global warming and new communicable diseases, have been left in the dark. Looking at today’s challenges in the context of global goods could potentially point policy makers…

For decades, economists and others have tried to supplant GDP-driven indicators with measures that take human well-being into account, as opposed to only material living standards. But how easy is that, and how close are we?

The global crises have prompted calls for new ways of thinking about what can be done to steer economic development in a greener direction. Since, in politics, one should ‘never let a serious crisis go to waste’, this is the time to take bold step…

By 2030, nearly 60% of the world’s population will live in cities. Mayors and city governments are now collaborating at a transnational level to deal with challenges such as climate change and poverty, and are carving out a new role for themselves…

Global value chains – the production, processing and marketing of products ‘from farm to fork’ – now link together producers, traders, processors, manufacturers, retailers and consumers. Due to changing market conditions and consumer demands, entr…

Phosphorus, a key component of fertilizers, is crucial for the world’s food supplies. But as reserves of phosphate begin to run out, the impacts are likely to be immense – in terms of rising food prices, growing food insecurity and widening inequa…

Violent conflicts in states such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan and the Balkans are at the centre of global politics. Big battles have been fought, enormous sums of money have been spent and troops have been deployed to end these conflicts….

Shrinking reserves of fossil fuels and growing anxiety over future energy security have boosted investments in renewable energy worldwide. Alarming climate change scenarios have also increased the focus on creating sustainable energy economies. It…

Despite major advances in knowledge and unprecedented gains in global wealth, health inequities between the rich and poor are increasing, both within and among countries. Poverty, poor living and working conditions and the inability to influence t…

Policy recommendations for reversing the ‘resource curse’ have been divided into ‘pure’ economic measures and messy politics. A reality check is needed to see if the suggested cures are realistic.

For many decades, the main driver of progress in developing countries was considered to be either the state or the market. Civil society existed only in relation to, and by the grace of, these forces. But people-centred development requires that i…

The phrase ‘fragile states’ has gradually become part of the vocabulary of international donors in recent years. The concept of fragile states seeks to marry development and security issues. But it has led to a variety of fragile state agendas of…

Europe is the world’s leading provider of official development assistance (ODA). The EU and its member states account for 60% of all development moneys. Africa alone receives roughly US $14 billion a year from its northern neighbours. But is Europ…

How are societies ‘developed’? For years, international aid has failed to provide a convincing answer. This article offers a potential path to improving both aid performance and development in a broader sense. This article presents an alternative…

The Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently completed an extensive evaluation of the Dutch Africa policy over the period 1998–2006. The report contains a number of hard-hitting conc…

Extreme weather events, partly caused by climate change, are already wreaking havoc, especially in the South. Both floods and droughts are expected to become more frequent and more severe and more people will be forced to live in vulnerable areas….

Developing countries lower their taxes to attract foreign investment. Rich individuals and multinationals use tax havens to evade taxes. Both of these processes are eroding the tax base of many governments.

Non-governmental development organizations are expected to focus on countries with poor governance. New evidence shows that they do not. While they do tend to focus more than bilateral donors on poor countries, they make some curious geographical…

The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working to create a more knowledge-oriented organizational culture. But at the same time it is losing its internal capacity for strategic thinking, a crucial attribute in an era of globalization, inte…

Welcome to the website of The Broker, a bimonthly magazine and email newsletter, published by the Foundation for International Development Publications (IDP). The magazine is for all those concerned with development and globalization, especially i…