Peace Studies and International Development, University of Bradford

25/09/2026

When disaster strikes, who is to blame? The data holders, the people responsible for acting on the data, or the systems that connect the two?

Can early-warning technology save lives if institutions lack the capacity, resources or agreements needed to turn information into action?

And what does Nepal’s experience tell us about the wider risks of countries depending on externally controlled technology and infrastructure for disaster preparedness?

In her piece for The Diplomat Magazine, our recent alumnus Manju Telor writes about causes of the recent floods in Nepal.

As she highlighted:
"This is a valley that has flooded before, and will flood again asking questions no one in Kathmandu, or Beijing, or Washington seems eager to answer out loud. Questions about who owns the sky above a mountain. About what a warning is worth if no one built the wires to carry it. About the quiet arithmetic of a budget line, cut year after year, until a river simply stopped being watched"

Manju recently completed her MA in International Relations and Security Studies. Her research interests focus on how small states navigate emerging great-power rivalries and the challenges posed by an increasingly contested international order.

A fantastic achievement — congratulations, and keep up the great work!

University of Bradford Quaker Peace Studies Trust

To read the full article, please visit:
https://thediplomat.com/2026/09/who-is-to-blame-for-the-massive-death-toll-in-the-nepal-floods/

The problem wasn’t China or a lack of data; it was Nepal’s lack of follow-through.

11/09/2026

As student halls slowly start filling up and queues for coffee begin to grow longer, we know that the excitement of a new academic year is just around the corner!

For all of those who are new to or returning to campus, we thought this would be a good time to share some useful advice. And, of course, as we know you are most likely to listen to your peers, we asked a few of our summer graduates to share some of their tips with you.

If you recognise any of these students, we hope it will bring a smile and some fond memories. And if you are one of our recent or returning students – do you have any other tips for our new arrivals?

Thank You - Precious Bernadette Esogbue LINTON NJULU Caleb Omaboe Ruby Corder Mackenzie Fraser Clinton Luchivya Lovepreet Kaur

Rotary Peace Centre - University of Bradford University of Bradford

07/09/2026

Our Rotary Peace Fellow and an MSc Sustainable Development student Fariah Lalaikipian is currently undertaking her Applied Field Experience (AFE) with Islamic Relief Worldwide’s advocacy team, navigating global humanitarian advocacy, climate justice and climate finance.

Reflecting on the experience, Fariah shared:

“One thing my AFE is teaching me is that you never really leave the classroom behind. Somehow, Bradford keeps following me into every meeting, research question and policy conversation.

Professor P.B Anand's classes on critical perspectives may have worked slightly too well. I now find myself reading a policy document and asking: Who defined this problem? Whose evidence counts? Who benefits? Who is missing?

My experiences during our Rwanda Study Visit, thanks to Dr. Maria Ambrozy, have also shaped my experience. Conversations about development, resilience and community agency keep resurfacing as I navigate discussions about climate justice.

And then there is climate finance. Some days I feel like I am finally understanding it. Other days I have approximately 50 browser tabs open and several new acronyms I definitely did not know existed that morning!

My AFE has allowed me to explore how global climate-finance discussions translate — or sometimes fail to translate — into realities for communities, while bringing my own experiences of working with grassroots women and communities into the space.

My supervisor, Professor Rashmi Arora, has also been an important part of this journey, making sure that when I enthusiastically disappear down research rabbit holes, those ideas remain anchored.

A special milestone has been my first blog with Islamic Relief Worldwide, published for International Youth Day, ‘Finding a voice between worlds.’
https://lnkd.in/eSGmYuw4

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to learn, be supported and contribute. For now, I will return to my 50 climate-finance tabs.”

As we’re already in September, it won’t be long before we see you back on campus, Fariah. We can’t wait to hear more about your experience and everything you’ve learned along the way!

Rotary Peace Centre - University of Bradford University of Bradford

01/09/2026

Our MSc Sustainable Development, Rotary Peace Fellow Andrea Ocampo is currently completing her Applied Field Experience at the University of Basel, Switzerland, where she is working with the Sustainability Research Group on the EXPECT-AGRI project.

During her stay, Andrea is supporting the development of an international company survey on sustainability due diligence regulations in global supply chains, adapting research tools to different regional contexts and putting into practice many of the ideas explored in Professor PB Anand's Policy Analysis module, as well as drawing on her own experience of corporate deforestation-free supply chain strategies.

Beyond research, Andrea has been enjoying the Basel summer by swimming in the Rhine River and experiencing what the “right to the city” really means. As she put it: “It is fascinating to realise that enjoying this shared river today is the result of decades of transboundary cooperation and international governance.”

This experience also connects closely with discussions in Dr Suresh Kumar Rohilla and Anisha Samantara’s Sustainable Cities module, bringing some of the concepts explored in the classroom to life in a very tangible way.

University of BradfordUniversity of Bradford Rotary Peace Centre - University of Bradford

27/08/2026

While we cheer on all our students in their summer engagements and various placements and internships, this one is doubly special for us, as through making this connection we managed to link our current student, Ssebukalu Alex, with our good friend and alumnus Chika Charles Aniekwe, PhD.

Following a robust selection process, Alex Ssebukalu, our current Rotary Fellow studying for an MA in Peace, Conflict and Development, became our pioneer intern, undertaking his placement with the UNDP Malawi Country Office and working as a Human Security Analyst within the Governance Portfolio.

UNDP Malawi has been present in the country since 1964 and works closely with the Government of Malawi, civil society, the private sector and other partners to contribute to the national development strategy and the achievement of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As part of his work, Alex has been actively developing fundraising concept notes and proposals on strategies to better support and sustain Malawi’s national peace architecture in the ever-shrinking development aid space.

Additionally, Alex is also contributing to UNDP’s work supporting the Parliament of Malawi in formulating its new strategic plan, aligned with Malawi Vision 2063.

We see this year’s engagement with the UNDP office in Malawi and Alex’s internship as a first step towards developing a long-term partnership and cooperation between our department and the Malawi office.

We are very eager to hear more from Alex when he gets back in a few weeks.

See you soon in Bradford!

University of Bradford Rotary Peace Centre - University of Bradford

25/08/2026

As we continue checking in with our students, we recently heard from Giulio Greco and Thomas Akandak, who this summer undertook the overseas placement in South Korea.

This placement is sponsored by the Turing Scheme and is organised by the University of Bradford's International Opportunities Team, led by Carlos Santos E Sousa. The programme of the placement involves attending an 18-day-long Summer School at Ajou University, where students attend two courses that they have selected out of a pool of four. The courses chosen by our students were linked directly to their area of study and consisted of elements of Economic Development and Policies, and Sustainability, as well as the study of Global Conflict, Digital Strategies in Media and Communication, and Digital Storytelling.

As highlighted by both Giulio and Thomas, this placement provided profoundly enriching experiences and added to the learning which they were engaging in at the Department. Thomas summarised it by saying:
"One of the cultural sites I visited in South Korea was the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the border between North Korea and South Korea. Standing at the DMZ brought my Peace and Development studies to mind as I saw a nation still living with division, which made me reflect on and question some of the theories of conflict and reconciliation I had come across in class".

Giulio requested us to give a special shout-out to the entire PSID team, as well as to the UoB Visa Support Team - to quote: 'none of this would have been possible without your help'.

Well done to both of you for choosing to learn, grow, and develop your understanding of Peace and Development beyond the classroom and throughout the summer break.

See you soon in Bradford 🙂

University of Bradford

12/08/2026

Our MA Rotary student Hunter Levy, who last semester convened the 'Atlas Film Project' (also known as the 'PSID Movie Club') is currently keeping very busy with his summer internship. For everyone - staff and students - who took part in our Film Club sessions last year, we are delighted to share that the project has inspired a new iteration — this time in Tanzania!

'Katikati ya Mistari' (Between the Lines) is an after-school programme dedicated to engaging Tanzanian secondary school students through the power of storytelling, with film as a primary medium. It is a direct descendant of the Atlas Film Project, a student-led initiative at the University of Bradford built around the core philosophy of bringing a diverse international community together through film.

Over the course of six weeks, more than 200 students across three secondary schools in the Geita region of northwestern Tanzania will engage with a range of Swahili-language stories across different media — including film, books, poetry and music — as catalysts for discussion and reflection.

During the second half of the programme, students will be encouraged to develop their own stories, which will then be performed at an end-of-programme showcase.

Meanwhile, back at University of Bradford, the 'Atlas Film Project' is set to return once classes resume this autumn. Keep an eye out for details of the first screening of the 2026–27 academic year in September!

We are very pleased to see an initiative that began on our campus continuing to evolve and creating new spaces for storytelling, dialogue and connection across borders.

12/08/2026

How can ID cards and other bureaucratic tools tell us something about power, governance and everyday life in Colombia?

Drawing on original research in Colombia, our very own, Clara Voyvodic’s new article published in the Journal of Political Power, examines how FARC dissidents use these roadblocks to project the illusion of state-like power in a territory while also revealing their dependence on civilians, state institutions, and direct violence for control.

In her article Clara, shows how roadblock governmentality produces not only a security apparatus but also reproduces the territorial 'citizen' through health requirements and civic obligations.

One particularly striking idea from the paper is the checkpoint as a “theatre of power” — a place where the appearance of state-like authority is produced, but where the limits of that authority are also exposed.

The research provides an interesting perspective to learn more about contemporary Colombia, and about the complex ways governance, mobility and civilian life are intertwined in territories affected by armed conflict.

Well done Clara! And this is a must read for anyone interested in Colombia, rebel governance, conflict and the day to day workings of political power.

Link: https://lnkd.in/eF7qPuQ3

08/08/2026

It's always encouraging for the entire team to see our own colleagues sharing their research and contributing to conversations that have real-world impact.

We are especially pleased to see how our colleague, Dr Serag El Hegazi, continues to strengthen our understanding of the MENA region, particularly in relation to post-conflict and post-disaster recovery.

Over the past few weeks, Serag has had plenty to celebrate.

He has secured a research grant from the British Institute for Libyan and Northern African Studies (BILNAS) for his project, Reconstructing Urban Flow: Memory, Sacred Space, and Post-Conflict Design in Benghazi. The project will explore how culture, collective memory and urban planning can contribute to the sustainable regeneration of post-conflict cities by bringing together local and international partners to develop evidence-based approaches to urban regeneration in Libya.

In addition to this, Serag has published a Springer Nature book chapter that addresses some of the most pressing challenges facing the region. The chapter explores how project management can strengthen disaster resilience and support sustainable recovery through case studies from Morocco and Libya, highlighting the importance of community engagement and effective project management in long-term recovery.

Most recently, he has also published further research on Youth Engagement in Post-Disaster Recovery. Here, Serag makes a compelling case that rebuilding cities is about far more than restoring physical infrastructure. He argues that sustainable recovery also depends on investing in people, particularly young people, equipping them to become future leaders, decision-makers and partners in governance, economic development and long-term resilience.

Taken together, these outputs demonstrate that post-conflict and post-disaster recovery cannot be understood as a single event. Rather, they highlight the multiple, interconnected dimensions of rebuilding societies and the importance of developing approaches that are both evidence-based and grounded in local contexts.

Well done, mate! It's great to see your research continuing to develop and, as always, keeping the rest of us thinking—and helping us better understand the complexities of the MENA region.

01/08/2026

Daniela Fernandez Campos, our student in the MSc Economics and Finance for Development, is currently undertaking her Rotary internship at ECLAC (the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) in Santiago, Chile, where she works on research supporting digital transformation and technology development policies across Latin America. She has also participated in major regional events, including the Regional Conference on Public Investment, which brought together ministers and government representatives from across the region.

Daniela highlighted that one of the most impactful experiences during her time in Chile was visiting the Museum of Memory and Human Rights. The museum tells the story of the thousands of people who disappeared, were tortured, and lost their lives during the military dictatorship.

In her message to us, Daniela wrote:

"What struck me most, however, is that Chile's story is also one of resilience. The country has managed to grow beyond the fear and build one of the strongest economies in the region. Like we saw during our visit to Rwanda, this brought me back to the importance of institutions, accountability, and democratic governance

Thinking about all that, I wanted to give my big shout-outs to Maria Ambrozy, who led the Rwanda Study Visit this year, and Prof. P.B Anand. Thank you—learning from both of you, I now believe that I understand peace, institutions, and their intersection with my field much better. It has become something that I now carry into everything I do, both professionally and personally.

Summarising it all, this summer has made me reflect on how much my perspective has changed since arriving at the University of Bradford. I came to the University primarily with ideas about economic growth and development, without fully understanding the role that peace plays in shaping those outcomes, or even my own role as a Rotary Peace Fellow. My whole experience in the Peace Studies shifted that perspective. I've come to see that peace is not separate from development; it is foundational to it."

Rotary Peace Centre - University of Bradford University of Bradford