International Development Research Areas

Work and economy

Our multidisciplinary research in this area explores the historical and contemporary dynamics of economic systems and transformations in the world of work.

Key themes and research examples

Capitalism and uneven development
Global value chains
Natural resource economies
Trade and investment
Financialisation of markets
Labour market transformation,
Digital labour and platform economy
Refugee and migrant economies
Employment and unemployment
Informal economy
Entrepreneurship

Research examples
Money from above: Cash transfers, moral desert and enfranchisement among Guaraní households of the Argentine Chaco (external site)

Migration and forced displacement

Migration and forced displacement have been key factors in shaping international development processes and humanitarian concerns around the world. Our research in this area takes a diversity of directions and frequently aims to understand larger transnational dynamics through people-centred research rooted in specific places and countries.

Key themes and research examples

Labour migration
Transnationalism and diaspora
Forced displacement and refugee studies
Refugee and migrant economies
Identity
Mobility and immobility
Migration control and management
Justice and rights in displacement and migration,
Digital technology and ICTs in the context of displacement

Research examples
The role of coding school for the economic inclusion and employment of refugees (external site)

Peace and conflict

Conflict and peace are crucial factors that shape international development processes around the world, with conflict and violence being one of the key reasons for growing humanitarian needs.

Key themes and research examples

The humanitarian impact of conflicts
Political violence
Identity and conflict
Militaries and international security interventions
Peacekeeping
Mutinies
Conscientious objectors and pacifism
Post-conflict transitions, state building and transitional justice
Conflict-induced displacement and migration
Settler colonial conflicts

Research examples
Battles of Conscience: British Pacifists and the Second World War (external site)
Torture and ill-treatment under perceived: Human rights documentation and the poor (external site)

Sustainability and environment

With questions of sustainability at the forefront of international development policies, our research engages critically with the definitions and implications of sustainable development and the complex relationships among environmental, economic and social imperatives on a changing planet.

Key themes and research examples

Energy and low-carbon energy futures
Waste
Climate change
Ecology and biodiversity
Resource extraction and resource politics
Agriculture and food
Water
Environmental justice
Cultural and political dynamics of scarcity, security, and abundance

Research examples
Recycling Ruins: how disasters spur value creation in global recycling and construction, through the incorporation of vulnerable workers (external site)
Alternative Economies and Community Energy in Scotland (external site)

Health and wellbeing

We have a unique interdisciplinary expertise and strength in the field of health and well-being, with one of the largest concentrations of Medical Anthropologists in Europe in the Edinburgh Centre for Medical Anthropology (EdCMA).

Key themes and research examples

Global health and public health
Disease and Illness
Pharmaceuticals
Diagnostic technologies
Sexual and reproductive health, and maternal and child health.
Health infrastructures
Responses to HIV/AIDS crises
Mental health
Happiness
Indigenous public health practices
Health care in the context of forced displacement

Research examples
Pharmaceutical interventions and antimalarial resistance research, incuding community-based approaches to the fight against malaria in Senegal (external site)
Data Performativity, Performing Health Work: Malaria and Labor in Senegal (external site)
HIV prevention and public morality in Pakistan (external site)
Mobilized, Recruited, Conscripted: Leveraging community health work, citizenship and public authority in northern Kenya

Technology and infrastructure

Technology, and especially digital technology, is taking up an increasingly central role in international development and humanitarianism. Our research in this area concerns the economic socio-political, ethical, legal and cultural implications of the adoption and penetration of technologies in development.

Key themes and research examples

Digital finance and mobile money
Governance of digital platforms
Digital labour, the gig economy, and digital livelihoods
Urban transport infrastructures and urban technologies
Artificial Intelligence
Data practices in international development
Digital humanitarianism and humanitarian technologies

Research examples
The role of statistical capacity building in the 2030 Development Agenda and the ways that the ‘Data Revolution’ has been positioned as the solution to its complicated goals (external site)
Politics and Markets in Digital East Africa and Beyond: opportunities and risks that have been created as a result of the use of digital data in African contexts (external site)
Developing Data: Politics & Markets in Digital East Africa and Beyond (external site)

Identity, culture and religion

Dynamics of identity, culture, and religion have long been at the heart of international development, including through movements for social justice, gender equality, indigenous rights, and culture appreciation. Our diverse work in this field reflects the richness of local cultural practices while maintaining a concern with global processes and inequalities.

Key themes and research examples

Gender politics and gender-based social movements
Culture politics
Identity politics
Race and inequality
Indigenous struggles and politics
Religious activism and faith-based organizations
Nationalism and identity
Public morality

Research examples
Hostility, Visibility and the Digital Voices of LGBT+ Refugees in Kenya (external site)
Research network on sexuality and religion in East Africa (external site)

Governance, politics and law

Discussions of the role of governance, political institutions, and the rule of law in development have long been a central part of debates amongst both policy makers and academics. Our research in this area engages with these debates while also speaking to emergent issues and wider considerations, including on topics such as:

Key themes and research examples

Humanitarian governance
Politics and policies in international development
Democracy and elections
Criminal justice and courts
Legal pluralism
State bureaucracies
Humanitarian law and conflict
Legal means of oppression
The role of law in conflicts, including land-based conflicts

Research examples
In the Shadow of Good Governance: Civil Service Reform in Africa (external site)