Certainty has such a strong place in politics not just because it serves as the preferred foundation/platform from which to choose to act, but also because certainty supports and drives…
Uncertain superlatives
Uncertain futures and the politics of uncertainty
Since writing The Romantic Economist – Imagination in Economics (2009) I have been fascinated by the link between the human capacity to imagine new futures and the prevalence of uncertainty….
Measles, MMR and vaccines: where do vaccine anxieties come from?
Measles and vaccines are back in the news. The UK has lost its measles-free status, according to Public Health England. The Guardian reports that about 30,000 children are starting primary…
Responding to uncertainty: who are the experts?
Uncertainties are everywhere, part of life. But how to respond? Who are the experts? These are questions that we are debating this week at a symposium entitled ‘The Politics of Uncertainty:…
STEPS co-director Ian Scoones awarded Ester Boserup prize for research on development
Ian Scoones, Professorial Fellow at IDS and co-director of the ESRC STEPS Centre has been awarded the 2019 Ester Boserup prize for research on development. In a lecture on 14…
Cities, Uncertainty and Systems Change
Depending who and where you are in the world, you will be experiencing the effects of climate change differently. Here in the UK, the recent hot-weather days in February might…
Irrigating Africa: can small-scale farmers lead the way?
by Ian Scoones, Felix Murimbarimba and Jacob Mahenehene We often hear that irrigation in Africa is too limited, and that the key to a “green revolution” on the continent is…
Five problems with ‘integrated assesment’ models, and what to do about them
What are the most appropriate ways of understanding changes in natural resource change in rural areas, particularly in the context of climate change? How can we make use of data…
Pastoralist milk is a viable commodity. What enables it to flourish?
Pastoralists’ integration into market dynamics is mostly addressed through the lens of trade in meat products, involving male traders. Pastoral milk, mostly traded by women, is often ignored. But good…
Towards a more convivial politics of science
This is the last in a series of three blog posts by Andy Stirling about the theme of the STEPS Centre for 2019: Uncertainty. In previous blogposts in this series,…