This report from UK think tank IIED examines how currency fluctuations and climate risks impact debt sustainability in SIDS and LDCs. Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs) are facing growing debt burdens, as volatile exchange rates, amplified by climate shocks, inflate the cost of servicing external debt. The reliance by SIDS...

This report from UK think tank Chatham House examines responses to US power in a fracturing world. The ‘liberal international order’ that has been predominant, if often controversial, since 1945 is being challenged as never before. This reflects factors both long-standing and recent: the rise of China; the frustrations and ambitions of countries – including...

This report from UK think tank IIED outlines a number of action points to improve the effectiveness of debt swaps. In recent years, mounting external public debt has placed significant constraints on low-income country government budgets, particularly for those countries on the frontlines of combatting climate change and biodiversity loss. Debt for climate and nature...

This report from UK think tank the Coalition for Global Prosperity looks at reinvigorating international development as part of UK foreign and security policy. Development in the Pre-War Era makes the case for reinvigorating international development as a cornerstone of UK foreign and security policy to counteract the rising influence of autocratic regimes. Drawing on...

This report from UK think tank Chatham House explores the challenges of increasing climate finance to emerging markets and developing countries. With climate impacts getting worse and temperature records being broken, the pressure on countries to raise more money in support of climate action continues to increase. But the ‘climate finance gap’ – the difference...

This report from UK think tank the Coalition for Global Prosperity looks at what spending is needed to combat the rising threats of our era. The rising intensity and frequency of global conflicts pose a significant challenge to the UK, creating instability across borders and driving millions into humanitarian crises. These heightened geopolitical tensions are...

This report from UK think tank IIED explores the vulnerabilities of cotton farmers in the Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. India is the world’s largest cotton producer, accounting for nearly a quarter of global production. The cotton sector is crucial for India’s economy and supports the livelihoods of approximately six million farmers. However, climate...

This report from UK think tank IIED reevaluates responses to the protracted displacement of Syrian refugees in Jordan. An estimated one in 14 residents in Jordan is a refugee, making it the world’s second largest per capita refugee host. Almost 90% of the 727,715 people registered as refugees with UNHCR in Jordan are from Syria,...

This report from UK think tank Chatham House explores how the circular economy could support each of the 17 SDGs. With progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) badly off track, international policymakers are scrambling for solutions that can both revitalize the current SDG agenda and drive more effective action on humanity’s big challenges...

This report from UK think tank IIED offers a comprehensive step-by-step guide to quantifying and valuing economic and non-economic loss and damage. Across the world, climate impacts such as extreme heat and floods are destroying lives, livestock and property. Loss and damage occurs when the capacities of affected communities and countries are compromised to the...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs looks at foreign aid spending in regions that are richer than parts of the UK. UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending has gone to regions of upper-middle-income countries with GDP per capita figures equal to or in excess of those reported in large parts...

This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society examines Western support for the Russian diaspora. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has understandably focused the Western response on supporting Ukraine. However, the ‘as long as it takes’ rhetoric should have been relegated to the dustbin of slogan history and replaced with...

This report from UK think tank RUSI examines whether virtual assets can be used to facilitate donations to Ukraine’s urgent reconstruction efforts. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has left much of the country in ruins. Rallying international support for the nation’s swift recovery has therefore become a necessity. From the beginning of the full-scale invasion,...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation seeks to illuminate how the UK can best realise the benefits that come from the admission of international students. The debate around international students has taken on a more negative tone both in the UK and in other major host countries over the past year...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies presents the political context of Bangladesh and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the country. This report synthesises findings on accountability and citizen–state relations in Bangladesh from the Covid-19 Learning, Evidence and Research Programme in Bangladesh (CLEAR). To do this, it refers to...