The International Development Department at the University of Birmingham marked the 60th anniversary of its foundation with a special event at the Bramall Music Building. IDD head Professor David Hudson welcomed back Emeritus Professor Richard Batley (Head of Dept from 1997-2004) and Alumna Dr Kamna Patel (UCL), to take part in a lively panel discussion reflecting on the past, present and future of IDD and development studies. Also on the panel were current colleagues Professor Fiona Nunan, Professor Jonathan Fisher and Dr Zenobia Ismail.

Organisation of the event was led by Dr Merisa Thompson and Professor Hudson in collaboration with the Guild of Students’ International Development Society. The latter entertained attendees by staging a surprise ‘Mastermind’-style grilling of the editors of IDD’s new collaborative book, The Politics of Development, published to coincide with the anniversary and officially launched at this event.

IDD published a textbook, edited by Claire Mcloughlin, Sameen Ali, Kailing Xie, Nic Cheeseman, and David Hudson, that brings together 17 contributions from across the department to provide an introduction to controversial and contested topic of The Politics of Development.

The book challenges readers to see politics as not only an obstacle to development, but also the means to achieve it. It illustrates the unavoidable reality that politics shapes who gets what, when, and how, whether in family settings, local communities, national stages or global arenas. It also provides readers with a roadmap to better navigate competing demands and push change forward.

Read more about the book.