Expectations were high that authoritarian regimes would not survive the expansion of capitalism. However, in the Middle East there are strong currents that underpin authoritarianism. Trying to impose democracy from the outside will not help. Only changes in economic structures will show results in the long term.

Leading aid models focus on economic growth and poverty reduction. The well-being approach aims for more comprehensive change. A recent study designed tools for implementing this new concept.

Three months ago, the term ‘system crisis’ was only heard in think tanks and sleepy research institutes. Who else worried about it? Now it is competing with ‘meltdown’ to become the most-used term in newspapers and on the television and radio.

Over the last 50 years the systems field has expanded to encompass more than 1,000 methodologies. In this article, Bob Williams describes three core concepts of systems thinking.

The struggle against child labour is showing results. But the consensus is now being attacked from two sides: abolish all child labour versus there is nothing wrong with child work.

Development is mostly about transforming institutions – cultural values, legal frameworks, market mechanisms and political processes. If aid is failing, it is in part because agencies misunderstand institutions and how they change.