Global social challenges
There are multiple interlocking crises currently gripping the planet. Significant threats and dangers lie ahead of us, but so do opportunities, as new ways of being, thinking, and doing emerge.
This stream of Transforming Society is a space for exploring the complexities of the global social challenges across disciplines and fields. It seeks to build and share the knowledge needed to shape a fairer world, across and for the global south and north, hoping to foster dialogue between academics, practitioners, policy makers and the wider public.
Fradreck J. Mujuru discusses how encounters with landmines in Zimbabwe inspired him to investigate their lasting humanitarian, environmental, and cultural impacts, exposing how these remnants of war continue to devastate communities and undermine security governance.…Read more
Gabriele Mari highlights how child poverty in the UK is rising, driven by restrictive benefits policies, despite strong evidence that adequate support can reduce poverty and improve wellbeing.…Read more
Elliott, author of 'Making War Safe for Capitalism', argues that Ukraine’s war has left the country deeply indebted, with international lenders prioritizing profits over its people’s survival and reconstruction.…Read more
In this episode, George Miller speaks with Julia Buxton about how personal experience drew her into the drug policy field, why US power has played such a disproportionate role and what happens when countries attempt reform.…Read more
In this episode, Richard Kemp speaks with Peter Beresford about the problem neoliberalism poses, both in politics and in our everyday lives.…Read more
Devran Gülel argues that visa regimes act as structural gatekeepers in academia, disproportionately limiting the mobility of Global South scholars, marginalizing their knowledge, and perpetuating global hierarchies under the pretense of meritocracy.…Read more
A curated collection of open access works explores urgent global challenges, from climate grief and AI ethics to inequality, migration, and political representation,offering critical insights for study and teaching.…Read more
Carolyn Snell and Lucie Middlemiss, authors of 'Just Climate Futures', argue that while Net Zero policies are vital for tackling climate change, they must be shaped around everyday realities and social inequalities to ensure they enhance rather than diminish people’s lives.…Read more
In this episode, Richard Kemp speaks with Kalwant Bhopal about why those from black and minority ethnic communities continue to be marginalised.…Read more
Rajat Mitra, Pankaj Singh, and Nidhi Mitra explore the collective, existential fear of extinction among Bangladeshi minorities, driven by historical trauma, rising persecution, and the struggle to preserve identity.…Read more