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Job Announcement: Research Assistant (f/m/diverse), Department “Transformation of Economic and Social Systems”

To support research staff with different tasks, the Department “Transformation of Economic and Social Systems” at IDOS is looking for a research assistant.

Three topics for a repositioning of the UN’s development arm

Baumann, Max-Otto (2025)
The Current Column, 08. September 2025

The comprehensive UN80 reform initiative may primarily be a response to financial constraints, but it also offers an opportunity to reposition the UN.

Civil Society at a Narrative Crossroads

Online, 04. September 2025

Civic space is narrowing and civil society actors are facing growing pressure from repression to narratives that challenge their legitimacy. At the same time, initiatives like the Global Gateway reflect a shifting landscape in international cooperation, where strategic interests and democratic values increasingly intersect. This webinar…

Strategic humanitarian aid, trust in Europe and support for authoritarianism

Sinanoglu, Semuhi (2025)
Discussion Paper 28/2025

What happens when donors admit humanitarian aid is strategic? An experiment in Turkey shows it undercuts regime propaganda and builds trust in Europe among conservative Eurosceptic voters.

Governance theories and digitalisation: four conjectures for the Mexican case

Porras, Francisco (2025)
Discussion Paper 27/2025

Explore how digitalisation reshapes governance in Mexico. This paper proposes four conjectures on how governments, academia, NGOs, and media can leverage digital tools for cooperation, problem-solving, and sustainable development.

Measuring sustainable development progress in Peru using multivariate latent Markov models

Roscioli, Federico / Daniele Malerba / Alessio Farcomeni (2025)
External Publications

Deutschland und die Unterstützung des Wiederaufbaus der Ukraine

Bergmann, Julian (2025)
External Publications

Nachhaltige Entwicklung, Umwelt- und Klimaschutz

Bauer, Steffen (2025)
External Publications

Russia's role in UN development work: influence without investment?

Novoselova, Anna (2025)
Policy Brief 15/2025

Global balance of power is shifting, and UN development work faces significant strains. How is Russia positioning itself? The policy brief explores Moscow’s approach to development, the narratives it advances, and the influence it projects in the UN development pillar.

Beyond nature-based solutions: the case for integrated nature-climate action

Folkard-Tapp, Hollie / Idil Boran / Sander Chan / Ines Dombrowsky / Tarra L. Penney / Dawn Bazely / Fidele Ruzigandekwe / Angele Alook / Nathalie Pettorelli (2025)
External Publications

Let’s be honest – both Sweden and Germany need the immigrants

Kuhnt, Jana / Mark Furness (2025)
External Publications

Population growth due to immigration is often portrayed as a problem rather than a success. This is deeply problematic, not least because Sweden – like Germany – depends on immigration to meet its growing labour market needs

Eine kohärente Migrations- und Flüchtlingsstrategie ist überfällig

Kuhnt, Jana / Mark Furness (2025)
External Publications

Migration wird in Deutschland oft verzerrt und polarisiert diskutiert – dabei ist sie dringend notwendig. Und das Leugnen dieser Realität behindert weiterhin die Entwicklung einer kohärenten nationalen Strategie.

Economic self-interest in German development policy: what might that look like?

Altenburg, Tilman / Babette Never / Rita Strohmaier (2025)
Policy Brief 14/2025

Calls for development policy to place greater emphasis on national self-interest are growing louder. We set out five guidelines for a development policy strategy that takes due consideration of Germany’s own interests without harming the partner countries.

Foreign aid transparency amid politicization

Janus, Heiner / Tim Röthel (2025)
External Publications

Development policy: don't overpromise and underdeliver

Janus, Heiner / Tim Röthel (2025)
External Publications

In view of massive funding cuts, donor countries should not overload development cooperation with secondary objectives, but focus on improving people’s living conditions.

UN80 Initiative

UN80 Initiative Jump to: Team Publications Projects Events What we read In its 80th year, the United Nations (UN) has fallen into a major crisis. Severe funding shortfalls are forcing the UN to make cuts – and, more fundamentally, to reflect on whether its structures, approaches, and even its overall political relevance still meet the demands of our time. The UN development system has long been criticized for its high level of institutional fragmentation and low…

Policy Brief

Policy Brief Jump to: Search for publication The Policy Brief is a new format that replaces the former series “Briefing Papers” and its German version “Analysen und Stellungnahmen”. Policy Briefs address questions of development policy and international relations. By including concise recommendations, the series is primarily aimed at policy makers, practitioners and representatives of the (professional) media industry. Besides, the series also addresses everyone…

Cross-Cutting Research – Sustainable Futures

Instead of searching for a single path, we emphasise ‘futures’ in the plural to underline the plurality of many different sustainable futures.

Localizing development to the grassroots: potentials and limits of engaging with community groups

Gutheil, Lena / Dennis Mbugua Muthama (2025)
External Publications

Foreign aid, power, and geopolitics: reflections on development cooperaton in a more fragmented world

Klingebiel, Stephan / Andy Sumner (2025)
External Publications

Recent development debates have largely centered on the steep reduction in financial resources triggered by the Trump administration. However, what remains insufficiently acknowledged is the extent to which these disruptions have undermined the conceptual foundations of international cooperation—particularly in terms of legitimacy, norms, and the evolving strategic positioning of the Global South.