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Demonstrations in Poland against an abortion ban turned into massive protests as they became an outlet for widespread frustration over governmental corruption and a crumbling democracy. 

The Ukrainian Maidan movement, in all its complexity, would not have succeeded without the support of local activists in the regions.

Gordana Knezevic takes a closer look at recent mass protests in Belgrade and Skopje, showing that public dissent can be driven by very different forces.

The wave of recent protests in Romania against unjust political decisions, which culminated in February 2017, represent a major step forward in the evolution of Romanian democracy.

Recent mass protests in Eastern Europe deserve our attention. The Broker aims to draw lessons from such movements’ conceptions to outcomes.

Studying the effect of new Information and Communication Technologies in Central African social and political movements provides valuable insight into their potential regional impact.

With so many conflicts emerging in Africa, the connections between these conflicts are becoming important. While conflicts are influenced by a diverse array of factors at local, national, regional and international levels, there is a need for poli...

Mandela was an ethical realist, who rejected confrontation both at home and internationally.

In Brazil, as elsewhere, the state has no qualms about using brutal force in defence of economic projects in the interest of capital

The protest movement in Brazil has been likened to an awakening giant, that is now suddenly out of control. 

The gap in policy processes towards better food security and nutrition interventions is not related to a lack of knowledge, it is politics. Research institutions need to be more aware of empowering beneficiaries.

Inequality trends present a paradox. Until we have clarity about the nature of these inequalities and what or who causes them, it is not clear whether inequality could or should become central to a post-2015 agenda.

Of all protests in recent years, the Occupy movement used a vocabulary that referred most directly to inequality. One of their most visible slogans was ‘We are the 99%’, a reference to a report from the US Congressional Budget Office, showing that...

INGOs need to intensify their support to, or even become part of, global social movements if they want to introduce structural change. They must also push for the creation of a global governance system for global public goods.

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...

‘All NGOs are dead.’ Brazilian hacktivist Pedro Markun opened his session with this heavyweight missile at the conference of the HIVOS’ Knowledge Program, ‘The Changing Face of Citizen Action’, last September.

Was the welcome smell of oven-fresh apple pie meant to soften the controversial question on the table: is it time for INGOs to retire?

What will our world look like in, say, twenty years from now, and what does that mean for the strategic choices that NGOs, INGOs and their partners should be making within the next few years?

‘Digital (Alter)Natives with a cause?’ is a collection of four books with essays published by the Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore, India, and the Dutch NGO Hivos. The books come in a beautifully designed cassette and are accompanied b...

Susan George is Chairperson of TNI. She introduces the 2011 Fellows Meeting. When talking about sharing the pie, dividing resources, what are your...

Social change

There is an urgent need to develop new ways of using local knowledge and ideas, and bring them to a higher, politically relevant level.

The blog ‘Current Global Affairs’ provides a window for reflection on news events, topical issues and developments. The blog focuses on the wider implications of current affairs, beyond the immediate impact of events as-they-unfold. Would you like...

Our increasingly interdependent world requires development policies that acknowledge the global context and address a new reality where a variety of actors as well as the state play a role.