News & Events

Read the column of ASC director Ton Dietz in the latest issue of OneWorld Magazine. The title, 'Cultural Barbary', alludes to the decision making process related to the book collection of the Royal Tropical Institute, and its transfer to Egypt.

Some discomforting conclusions can be drawn from the latest ASC Infosheet. The authors, Nicky Pouw and Kini Janvier, examined the definition of the ‘poor’ and the impact of development interventions on the ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ in Burkina Faso, using the PADev (Participatory Assessment of Development) methodology. They found that the number of ‘very poor’ people, according to PADev data, is significantly higher than official money-metric figures indicate. Moreover, the rich and very rich appear to benefit most from development interventions over time.

Inhabitants of poor, rural areas in the Global South heavily depend on natural resources in their immediate vicinity. Conflicts over these resources  severely affect their livelihoods. The contributors to this book leave behind the polarised debate that previously surrounded the relationship between natural resources and conflict, preferring a more nuanced approach. The book finds its origin in the research programme CoCooN, steered by The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research. Among the contributors are Ton Dietz and Marcel Rutten of the African Studies Centre.

Tanja Hendriks wrote the latest contribution to our Research Masters blog, ‘Inventing ourselves as Africanists’. Or: how to become an Africanist in a period (that lasts a month!) in the study programme that is officially known as ‘library time’ - yet unofficially as ‘time off’. Find out!