Recent work
Opinion
Israeli forces incarcerate IDS research partner without charge
Amid the relentless brutality unleashed upon the Palestinian collective in Israel’s ongoing genocide, Omar al-Khatib, a dear friend and IDS research partner, has been arrested by Israeli forces, and is now being held in ‘administrative detention’ – incarceration without charge or...
14 March 2024
News
First Arabic language cohort of social science and humanitarian fellows announced
The Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform (SSHAP) – a partnership between the Institute of Development Studies, Anthrologica, Gulu University, Le Groupe D’etudes Sur Les Conflits Et La Sécurité Humaine (GEC-SH), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of Juba,...
20 February 2024
Opinion
In Kashmir, like in Palestine, a decolonial commitment to justice is crucial
On 11 December 2023, the Indian Supreme Court declared its verdict on the legality of the government’s revocation of the ‘special status’ of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). On 5 August 2019, the Indian government deoperationalised Article 370 of its constitution, which had previously given a...
18 December 2023
Opinion
Environmental humanitarianism in the occupied Palestinian territories
As world leaders gathered for COP28 in the UAE over the past two weeks, so too did protestors calling for “climate decolonisation” and a ceasefire in Gaza. At the time of writing, the death toll in Gaza now stands at 18,000, over 70 percent of whom are women and children. Given the vast...
18 December 2023
News
Statement on Palestine
In the context of an escalating humanitarian crisis for the people of Gaza, IDS notes with sadness the failure of the United Nations Security Council to call for an immediate ceasefire in the war on Gaza. Professor Melissa Leach, Director of the Institute of Development Studies, says: “We...
12 December 2023
Opinion
In the face of genocide, the intifada must be globalised
On 7 November 2023, the death toll in Gaza surpassed 10,000 as the most brutal military assault in contemporary history continues to unfold. Now impossible to update following the collapse of services and communications in the north, this figure had risen to 11,078 by November 10th, with...
15 November 2023
Opinion
Contextualising Gaza: Colonial violence and Occupation
“We are at war”, stated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a recorded statement early on Saturday morning, and “we will win it”. While the unprecedented events of 7 October - constituting ‘the worst breach of Israel’s defences in 50 years’ - precipitated a declaration of...
13 October 2023
Working Paper
Between God, the People, and the State: Citizen Conceptions of Zakat
ICTD Working Paper; 167
The global pool for zakat – one of the five pillars of Islam mandating an annual payment typically equivalent to 2.5 per cent of an individual’s productive wealth – is estimated to make up between USD 200 billion and 1 trillion. States have long sought to harness zakat for their own...
25 May 2023