Development organizations have yet to come to terms with the inherent complexity of institutional change. Institutional change takes time, and the kind of institution best suited to a given situation depends on the context. In other words, a succe...

Brazil's new-found status has led it to assume a more proactive international role: mediating in Latin American conflicts, enhancing its presence in Africa, and testing its peacekeeping capacity in Haiti and the Middle East. But Brazil's new-found...

Contrary to what its critics think, Turkey is not ‘adrift’ but shaken by the pitch and roll resulting from a fundamental rethinking of Turkishness. Moreover, Turkey has taken on the role of mediator in the region, as was evident in its attempts to...

The 2007-08 food crisis was a stark reminder that we do not have food security under control. With this planet's population on the rise, measures are needed to repair the global food system. This special report examines the thorny issues of food s...

The notion of a financial transaction tax has been circulating for years. The recent financial crisis and the UN Summit on MDGs is a golden opportunity to finally take action. But are governments willing to look beyond their own back gardens and c...

While attention has shifted to the economic crisis, other crises, such as global warming and new communicable diseases, have been left in the dark. Looking at today's challenges in the context of global goods could potentially point policy makers...

For decades, economists and others have tried to supplant GDP-driven indicators with measures that take human well-being into account, as opposed to only material living standards. But how easy is that, and how close are we?

The global crises have prompted calls for new ways of thinking about what can be done to steer economic development in a greener direction. Since, in politics, one should ‘never let a serious crisis go to waste’, this is the time to take bold step...

By 2030, nearly 60% of the world’s population will live in cities. Mayors and city governments are now collaborating at a transnational level to deal with challenges such as climate change and poverty, and are carving out a new role for themselves...

Global value chains – the production, processing and marketing of products ‘from farm to fork’ – now link together producers, traders, processors, manufacturers, retailers and consumers. Due to changing market conditions and consumer demands, entr...