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.
After 30 years of UN climate summits, global warming has only worsened — revealing the urgent need for radical reform of the COP process and a complete transformation of our societal values.…Read more
University Press Week celebrates the collaborative power of university presses, exemplified by Bristol University Press’s Global Social Challenges Development Fund—to make research more inclusive, accessible and globally representative in tackling the world’s most urgent social issues.…Read more
Improving rather than abandoning voluntary carbon markets is crucial to ensure fair, transparent, and justice-oriented climate finance that genuinely benefits vulnerable communities and supports global climate goals.…Read more
Elizabeth Rasekoala’s award-winning book 'Race and Sociocultural Inclusion in Science Communication', calls for a global decolonisation of science communication, challenging systemic inequities and fostering inclusive, transformative practices that bridge Global North–South divides.…Read more
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