The department is a lively community that is recognised internationally as one of the top centres for research and teaching in development studies.

Our courses offer excellent training for a career in international development or for advanced study, and attract students of the highest calibre from across the world.
“I had waited for 10 years before my dream to study in Oxford became a reality and the experience was truly beyond expectation”
Our students are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about real change.
“My time at Oxford strengthened my critical analysis and provided me with a unique interdisciplinary grounding in history, politics and economics that has equipped me well in dealing with public policy issues and program development strategy.”
Our courses offer excellent training for a career in international development or for advanced study, and attract students of the highest calibre from across the world.
“I had waited for 10 years before my dream to study in Oxford became a reality and the experience was truly beyond expectation”
Our courses offer excellent training for a career in international development or for advanced study, and attract students of the highest calibre from across the world.
“I had waited for 10 years before my dream to study in Oxford became a reality and the experience was truly beyond expectation”
Our students are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about real change.
“My time at Oxford strengthened my critical analysis and provided me with a unique interdisciplinary grounding in history, politics and economics that has equipped me well in dealing with public policy issues and program development strategy.”
Our students are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about real change.
“My time at Oxford strengthened my critical analysis and provided me with a unique interdisciplinary grounding in history, politics and economics that has equipped me well in dealing with public policy issues and program development strategy.”
The ODID blog ran from 2012-19 and brought together commentary and analysis by staff, students, alumni and friends of the department on the issues we research.
The views expressed in posts do not necessarily reflect the views of ODID or of the University of Oxford. They should be understood as the personal opinions of the author.
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The Arab uprisings in 2011 were not just aimed at overthrowing authoritarian regimes but were also targeted at a well-entrenched system of economic privilege where those attached to the ruler’s insider circle had monopolized all economic opportunities.
For every regime that faced a popular backlash in the Middle East, there were some prominent businesses who became the symbol of corruption and injustice. In Egypt it was Ahmed Ezz, the steel magnate.
According to the Cambodia field director of the US-based Christian & Missionary Alliance (CMA), in an interview with this author in 2016, his organisation had...
It is estimated that of the 3.4 million Syrian refugees registered in Turkey, 650,000 have found work in the manufacturing sector, which includes the thriving leather-textile-garment industry. Most of them...
Muslim-Christian interactions are growing more common in the field of development. Many of these interactions are fraught, with community activists questioning the motives of faith-based organisations (FBOs...
Refugees are increasingly regarded as a development issue, rather than simply a focus for humanitarian aid. This reflects the fact that 84% of the world’s refugees are in...
In the slums of Bangkok, children simultaneously benefit from the humanitarian assistance of Catholic, Buddhist and officially secular local and international NGOs.
While many would agree that addressing the issue of child work is of high importance, the consensus on how to appropriately define children in work is not always clear. Already difficult to outline for the...
The current humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State, Myanmar, has inspired global sympathy for the plight of the 500,000 Muslim refugees who have been forced to flee their homes. Humanitarian sentiment towards...
In Tanzania, if you’re a schoolgirl and fall pregnant, it could mean the end of your education. Even though successive governments have made a push for girls education, those that fall pregnant are...
Blockchain has been much in the news lately thanks to the speculative cryptocurrency market. It is increasingly being touted as something of a magic bullet in a whole range of disciplines, and has been put...
As Development Studies scholars have long argued, the rapid and remarkable growth of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) since the Second World War has amounted to nothing less than an institutional...