A joint post by Prof. Shyama V. Ramani and Dr. Sanae Okamoto ‘The road to hell,’ goes the age-old proverb ‘is paved with good intentions’. In the 21st century, there can be no clearer example of this than the millions of underused or abandoned toilets in the developing world built for Sustainable Development Goal 6 on Clean Water and Sanitation. Yes, technology and innovation can speed up economic growth and inclusive development, but they are clearly NOT enough. What’s missing, say Prof. Shyama...

I found out about the UNU-MERIT PhD programme through an online scholarship subscription. Initially, I was a bit surprised that governance and economics could be combined to form a single PhD programme – but then I saw how the two tracks work side-by-side in a complementary way....

Migration across the Mediterranean is often portrayed as the new societal and political ‘crisis’ of our time; EU nations are struggling to agree over a few rescue boats, while narratives of “invasion” and “call-effect ” have become part of the political discourse. Yet, migration across the Mediterranean is nothing new; in fact, the Mediterranean is one of the most ancient channels of migration. From North to South, East to West, various civilizations have settled and resettled its shores. In fac...

In line with UN commitments ‘to leave no one behind’, social protection is a strategic approach for cutting poverty and improving resilience, based on strengthening the links between humanitarian aid and development. Extending coordinated social protection provisions to refugees could be the bridge from rapid response measures in crisis situations to medium and long-term development targets as sought by the Social Protection Inter-Agency Coordination Board (SPIAC-B). This post tackles the comple...

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Lieutenant General Dennis Gyllensporre of Sweden as Force Commander of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Lieutenant General Gyllensporre holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Maastricht University, gained in 2010 via our Dual Career Training Programme in Governance and Policy Analysis (GPAC²). His thesis focused on ‘Competing and Complementarity Perspectives on the EU as a Crisis Actor – Manage...

In our third and final report from the DEIP Innovation Workshop in Morocco, September 2018, we spoke with Omar Elyoussoufi Attou, Head of Innovation at the Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Executive Training. … How can this DEIP workshop help national governments — not only in Morocco but across the African Union? This workshop was an opportunity for us to have a better understanding of the issue of innovation in our countries, across various regions of ...

In this second report from our DEIP Innovation Workshop in Morocco, September 2018, we caught up with Dr. Mafini Dosso, an Ivorian national who works for the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Seville, Spain. … We spoke about the pyramid of science communications: about serving the handful of policymakers at the top and the mass of citizens at the bottom. But you also mentioned the disconnect between the two, i.e. the lack of quality science communications in the middle. ...

In light of the World Humanitarian Day last Sunday, August 19, this post argues for the need to revisit humanitarian aid and place it alongside social protection. Recognising that over 140 million people relied on humanitarian aid across 37 countries in 2017, there is an urgent need to take up the discussion and look towards the delivery mechanisms of social protection that allow for more long-term development....

Your PhD revolves around the redistribution of land and its impact on agricultural outcomes; this is timely and relevant given climate change and its impact on food security. Can you elaborate on your dissertation topic? ...

Eritreans on a bus on the road between Keren and Agordat in Eritrea. Eye Ubiquitous/UIG via Getty Images Most Eritreans understand the horrors that await them as they travel to seek refuge. Researcher Katie Kuschminder reveals some of the coping mechanisms developed in response. For years, Eritreans fleeing their homeland have known that, even if they make it to Libya, they will be kidnapped and ransomed. The extortion is systematic. Since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi, the southeast of Libya has ...