ODID - Oxford Department of International Development

Writing in the journal Contemporary Political Theory, Karolin Tuncel (& Tobias Müller, University of Cambrige) unpack intersectional theory’s contested relationship with religion, arguing against dismissing intersectional feminism’s capacity to conceptualise religious agency.

Read the paper ‘Is religion a problem for intersectional theory? Muslim women, feminism, and varieties of patriarchy’ here:

Is religion a problem for intersectional theory? Muslim women, feminism, and varieties of patriarchy - Contemporary Political Theory Intersectional theory has been criticised for neglecting religion and for being unable to account for religion’s social complexities. This contribution interrogates this critique by disaggregating different relationships of Muslim women to secular and religious varieties of patriarchy. We argue th...

Next in our seminar series on ‘Climate change and the challenges of development: how can we respond to this systemic crisis?’ led by Professor Laura Rival 👇

Join us at ODID on Wednesday 17 June, 3-5pm, when Professor Roger Merino (Universidad del Pacifico) will join us for a discussion on his book “Governing International Commons: From Polycentric to Plurinational Governance in the Amazon”.

On Oxford Events 👉 https://events.ox.ac.uk/oxford_event/19c7fd69-773d-f111-88b4-7ced8d99a758

New report from UNDP & TIDE!

Everyone is talking about the AI 'race'. But how can developing countries make sure they are not left out of this race? In this report, Riad Meddeb, Amir Lebdioui, Angel Melguizo, and Clement Amponsah provide new data, a framework and concrete policy recommendations for latecomers to make the most of AI as an industrialisation opportunity.

AI offers a powerful opportunity to enhance the effectiveness of sustainable energy efforts—if deployed responsibly. By centring equity, transparency, and local ownership, AI can support a just energy transition that leaves no one behind.

Read the report here:

The Energy Sprint of the AI Race This paper explores how AI can enhance decision-making, optimize energy systems, and enable more inclusive, data-driven policy and planning in low- and middle-income countries.

Next in our seminar series on ‘Climate change and the challenges of development: how can we respond to this systemic crisis?’ led by Professor Laura Rival:

Join us at ODID on Wednesday 27 May, 3-5pm, when Api’soomaahka – Running Coyote (William Singer III) will share his experience of the consensus-building process that led to the signature of the Buffalo Treaty of cooperation, renewal and restoration in 2014. Api’soomaahka is Steward of Naapi’s Garden and Katoyiss Seed Bank and a member of the Kanai Ecosystem Protection Association (KEPA).

On Oxford Events: https://events.ox.ac.uk/oxford_event/c9e46d76-cf3c-f111-88b4-6045bdcfe41f

Congratulations to Professor Xiaolan Fu & the OxValue.AI team!

OxValue.AI received two Highly Commended awards at the recent Financial Times PWM Wealth Tech Awards 2026, and has been selected as one of the Top 60 innovations globally for inclusion in the UN’s STI Solutions Book.

Find out more: https://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/news/oxvalueai-wins-awards-and-international-recognition

New in the journal European Security, Professor Corneliu Bjola and Francesca L Vaselli examine how Ukrainian state-affiliated and civil-society actors deploy virtual reality to shape perceptions of the conflict, defend cultural heritage and mobilise transnational solidarity.

Read online at

Virtual reality as strategic communication: cultural defence in wartime Ukraine Amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, immersive media have emerged as a new instrument of strategic communication. This article examines how Ukrainian state-affiliated and civil-society act...

Many congratulations to ODID MPhil students Amalia Ghina Alfiya, Khin Thazin, and Sua Cho who were awarded the Sir Winston Churchill Prize at the 2026 Entente Cordiale University Challenge.

Find out more about their project exploring solutions to the environmental and socio-political consequences of nickel mining in West Papua, here: https://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/news/mphil-team-win-prize-2026-entente-cordiale-university-challenge

New job opportunities here at ODID!

We are currently recruiting for the following positions:

• Programme Coordinator for the Oxford Sanctuary Community (deadline 23 April)

• Research and Innovation Associate in African History, for the project Unhousing Restitution (deadline 27 April)

• Departmental Lectureship in Politics (deadline 1 May)

• Departmental Lectureship in Technology and International Development (deadline 5 May)

Find full details at https://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/content/vacancies

What is driving the sweeping transformation of land use across Africa – and how should we make sense of it?

In the latest ODID blog, Phillan Zamchiya introduces the concept of globalised extractive territorialisation.

Read it here: https://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/blog/contemporary-global-drivers-land-use-changes-africa

New: An exhibition on African citymaking in uncertainty

'Atlas of Uncertainty: Transforming African Cityscapes' is a new exhibition at the Origins Centre, Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg from 18 April to 3 July.

This is a collaborative, interdisciplinary project of the Oxford/Wits Mobility Governance Lab (co-directed by Prof Loren Landau at ODID) and the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS). It brings together more than 40 writers, cartographers, and visual artists engaging with African migration and urban transformation.

Through art, music, essays, data, poetry, and maps, it explores how people in fragmented and mobile urban environments — particularly in Accra, Nairobi, and Johannesburg — are shaping space and possibility.

Find out more: https://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/news/new-exhibition-african-citymaking-uncertainty