by Amber Huff and Levi van Sant Based on a number of events convened under the Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative, we introduce a series of interventions that explore how political ecologies…
Authoritarianism, populism and political ecology
New book: Sustainable Livelihoods and Rural Development
Livelihoods are a vital lens on rural development, but should be examined in the context of wider questions of political economy. A new book by STEPS director Ian Scoones looks…
The power and politics around ‘objective’ performance monitoring
Performance monitoring, most prominently exemplified in the Millennium Development Goals, is often perceived as providing objective results. Using the case of access to rural water supplies in Ethiopia, a new…
THE IMPACT OF GLOBAL FINANCIAL TURMOIL ON CHINESE VILLAGES
By XIAOYUN LIANG and ADRIAN ELY, STEPS Centre From 29 November to 2 December 2008, we went to two villages in Tianmen county, Hubei province, in the middle of China….
RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LIVESTOCK: TRENDS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
By JULIA DAY, STEPS Centre member An update on our Veterinary Science, Transboundary Animal Diseases and Markets comes from William Wolmer who gave a presentation at a Botswana workshop earlier…
TODAY’S LANDFILL, TOMORROW’S HOUSING ESTATE
By JULIA DAY, STEPS Centre member The rapid expansion of peri-urban areas presents opportunities and challenges for urban and rural activities, institutions and sustainability. No longer soley seen in spatial…
CHINA RURAL REFORMS: WHAT IS A HOUSEHOLD?
ADRIAN ELY, STEPS Centre member reports with our partners professor Ding Shijun and Dr Chen Chuanbo on the challenges of conducting research in China’s changing rural areas In rural transitional…
RURAL REFORM IN CHINA: SETTING FARMERS FREE?
By JULIA DAY, STEPS Centre member On the day that the UK has nationalised some of its biggest banking institutions, China has announced bold new proposals to free up the…