Women's Month Series 2026 | The Southern Africa Rural Women’s Assembly Seed Guardians - Bliss The Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA) is one of the world’s most innovative and dynamic social movements. RWA is an independent and self-organized network of small-scale women farmers and peasant producers...

💡 Women's Month Series 2026 | The Southern Africa Rural Women’s Assembly Seed Guardians 💡

In 2009, 250 women came together and established RWA with the slogan Guardians of Land, Life, and Love.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-9m3

NEW BLOG📢 Bridging climate change and disaster scholarship

Hyeonggeun J. and Douwe S argue that critical vulnerability scholars from disaster and climate studies are essential for understanding and addressing contemporary climate-related disasters.
Read: lnkd.in/egvqmhs

Politics of Food and Technology Series | India’s protracted hunger crisis and the digitalisation of its Public Distribution System    - Bliss The Public Distribution System (PDS) of India, one of the largest food security programmes in the world, is a rights-based legal entitlement that distributes food grains to below poverty line househol...

NEW BLOG POST: India’s protracted hunger crisis and the digitalisation of its Public Distribution System

The Public Distribution System in India went biometric with Aadhaar to curb leaks C. Sathyamala and S. Laha argues digitalisation has led to exclusion

Read here: wp.me/p9fvbD-9gT

Solidarity under Siege: Germany’s crackdown on the Palestine movement - Bliss Since 7 October 2023, German authorities have imposed a far-reaching domestic crackdown on Palestine solidarity in tandem with the government’s political, diplomatic and material backing for Israel’s ...

NEW BLOG POST: Solidarity under Siege: Germany’s crackdown on the Palestine movement

In this blog, Josephine Solanki analyses and contextualises Germany's crackdown, which ranges from legal changes, protest bans, and police violence.

Read here: wp.me/p9fvbD-9fB

Politics of Food and Technology Series | Food crisis in the UK and the digitalisation of welfare: Bridging gaps or deepening marginalisation? - Bliss In this blog, Iris Lim, Susanne Jaspars, and Yasmin Houamed (SOAS) highlight  a growing food crisis in the UK, alongside a ‘digital-by-default' welfare transformation. Digitalisation has created the p...

NEW BLOG POST 📢Food crisis in the UK and the digitalisation of welfare

In this blog, the authors highlight a growing food crisis in the UK, alongside a ‘digital-by-default’ welfare transformation.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-9eB

16 Days Activism Against GBV Series| The Unseen Infrastructure of Care: Vicarious Trauma and the Systemic Failure in Sexual Violence Response - Bliss Sexual violence response systems rely on a workforce of caregivers who bear witness to trauma daily. Yet, the vicarious trauma eroding these responders' wellbeing is dangerously overlooked. Drawing on...

New Blog Post 📢Vicarious Trauma and the Systemic Failure in Sexual Violence Response

Drawing on her personal frontline experience, Emaediong Akpan argues that caring for survivors is impossible without caring for those who serve them.

Read the blog here: tinyurl.com/23zm9uj8

💡 16 Days Activism Against GBV Series| Pursuing Justice for Survivors of CRSV in Ukraine: Gender and Intersectionality Considerations 💡

In this blog post, Katerina Lefkidou examines current challenges in addressing CRSV in Ukraine.

Read the blog here: issblog.nl/2025/11/27/p...

16 Days Activism Against GBV Series | Effective Gender Justice as a Pathway to Peace - Bliss This blog post is based on the keynote speech delivered by Michelle Jarvis at the Gender Justice in International Criminal Law Conference, held on 29–30 September 2025 in The Hague, the Netherlands. T...

💡16 Days Activism Against GBV Series: Effective Gender Justice as a Pathway to Peace 💡

In this blog, Michelle Jarvis emphasizes that gender justice requires transforming justice processes and gender structures

Read the blog here: tinyurl.com/a2crmxe3
#UNiTE #16daysactvism

Politics of Food and Technology Series | The Politics of Food and Digital Technologies in Changing Global and Local Crises - Bliss Digitalisation is transforming how food and humanitarian assistance are delivered across the Global South and the Global North – from Sudan and India to the UK. While promoted as efficient and account...

💡 The Politics of Food and Digital Technologies in Changing Global and Local Crises💡

In this blog, Yasmin Houamed argues that digitalisation is not a neutral innovation but a political process, fraught with risks and vulnerabilities.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-90n

From mayhem to momentum: How a week of protest changed Nepal forever - Bliss In this blog, ISS MA Student and Nepali economic researcher Sagar Jung Karki looks into the rise and success of the 2025 ‘Gen Z’ protests in Nepal, that grew into a society-wide protest movement again...

NEW BLOG POST📢:From mayhem to momentum: How a week of protest changed Nepal forever

In this blog, ISS MA Student Sagar Karki looks into the rise and success of the 2025 ‘Gen Z’ protests in Nepal.

Read here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8XB

#AcademicChatter #GenZ #NepalProtests

We appreciate your readership. We are back next week with fresh research insights and meaningful conversations.

Join us here: issblog.nl

Fueling the fire or preventing it? How fire ontologies shape (fire) disaster governance in Kenya’s ghettos - Bliss You might gaze at this image and think, “If only the photographer had been a little more creative and had reached beyond the mesh, we would have gotten a clearer view of the fire.” Yet we, as the auth...

Look who pulled us out of summer break early!

In June, Beatrice showed us the hidden layers of #Nairobi’s fire disasters. Now, her paper reveals how storytelling & theatre can change disaster governance.

Read here👇
Blog: tinyurl.com/rtnxunwk
Paper: tinyurl.com/46mwmnrn

A clash of peace(s)? Feminist-decolonial reckoning with extractive disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR) programmes in Africa - Bliss Conventional Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) frameworks in Africa remain limited by masculinist and colonial legacies that marginalise the knowledge of African women’s and their l...

New blog post 📢A clash of peace(s)?

In this blog, Esther Beckley, PhD, calls for centering women’s knowledge to reimagine peacebuilding beyond exclusionary frameworks in Africa.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8G0
#Peacebuilding #AcademicChatter

Amsterdam’s Troubling Children’s Book - Bliss Amsterdam marked its 750th anniversary by distributing 60,000 copies of a commemorative book, Mijn Jarige Stad (“My Birthday City”), to children across the Dutch city. But what was intended as a celeb...

New Blog Post📢: Amsterdam’s Troubling Children’s Book

Amsterdam gave 60,000 kids Mijn Jarige Stad (“My Birthday City”) for its 750th birthday. Zhiqi Xu explores how unconscious bias seeps into children's literature, shaping their young minds.

Read the blog here: tinyurl.com/43sdurbw
#Amsterdam750

Humanitarian Observatories Series | preventing crisis through reforestation: the case of Kalehe in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo - Bliss Kalehe, a territory in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) located just to the north of Bukavu, has witnessed an unprecedented humanitarian crisis triggered by heavy rains in May 2023, resulting in...

New Blog Post 📢Humanitarian Observatories | Kalehe, DRC

In May 2023, floods killed 513+, left 5,000+ missing. In this blog, the authors from the DRC Humanitarian Observatory argue that reforestation could have reduced the impact.

Read the blog here: tinyurl.com/5bx5a9my
#DRC #Climatecrisis

Silencing Minds, Starving Bodies: Authoritarian Epistemicide in Ethiopia   - Bliss In this blog, Siyum Adugna Mamo and Ayehu Bacha Teso look at political developments within Ethiopia in the last decade, and their effects on freedom of academic work and thought as well as on material...

New Blog Post 📢Silencing Minds, Starving Bodies: Authoritarian Epistemicide in Ethiopia

In this blog, the authors examine the political developments in #Ethiopia in the last decade, and their effects on freedom of academic work.

Read the blog here: tinyurl.com/y7jszhr4

📢Coming This June: Blogs that Reimagine Peace, Policy & Power

We are publishing a compelling series of blogs that interrogate dominant systems, from feminist critiques of peacebuilding in Africa to the politics of selective knowledge in migration and authoritarianism.

Polycrisis and reasons for hope at the Humanitarian Leadership Conference: a practitioners’ perspective - Bliss In this blog, Carla Vitantonio (and host of the ‘Living Decoloniality’ podcast), takes stock of the views of humanitarian practitioners and researchers at the recent Humanitarian Leadership Conference...

💡 Polycrisis & Reasons for Hope at the Humanitarian Leadership Conference 💡

In her latest blog, Carla Vitantonio, captures insights from humanitarian practitioners in Doha. What challenges do they face? And where do they find hope?
Read the blog here : wp.me/p9fvbD-8zx

Governing through expulsion: rise in U.S. deportations quiets the Darién Gap, shifting burdens south - Bliss In this blog, Dr Maria Gabriela Palacio uses the example of The Darien Gap (a jungle crossing formerly utilised by forced migrants and refugees to travel North towards the USA) to consider the effects...

💡Governing through expulsion: rise in U.S. deportations quiets the Darién Gap, shifting burdens south💡

María Palacio considers the effects of recently changed and more brutal deportation policies put into place by the USA.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8yI

New Blog Post📢 A revolution for land and life in Colombia – and the world

In this blog, Prof. Jun Borras and Itayosara Herrera discuss Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s signing of the Pact for Land and Life Revolution for Life.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8y5

Home(s) in the In-Between: Trauma, Memory, Identity and Belonging in Home Game by Lidija Zelović - Bliss In this blog, Drs. Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits and Bilge Sahin reflect on Home Game, a documentary that unfolds not simply as a story of survival but as a profound meditation on the human condition—on ...

New Blog Post📢 Home(s) in the In-Between: Trauma, Memory, Identity and Belonging in Home Game

In this blog, Drs. Jayasundara-Smits & Sahin reflect on identity, memory, displacement & belonging themes at the movie screening.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8wx
#AcademicSky #Conflict

Humanitarian Observatories series | how domestic fire has become a humanitarian crisis: case of Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo - Bliss Domestic fires have heavily affected Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), causing deadly humanitarian crises with multiple effects. In 2024 alone, the DRC Humanitarian Observatory...

📢Humanitarian Observatories Series

How Domestic Fires Became a Humanitarian Crisis in Bukavu, DRC.
In 2024 alone:
🔥 59 fires
⚰️ 21 deaths
🏚️ 2,706 homes lost
📚 Schools & churches destroyed
Urban reform is urgent.

Read here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8vA
#DRC #PhD #AcademicChatter

📢BLISS is evolving!

We are opening up the space for bold dialogue on every aspect of development, starting with a new Opinion Section for lived experiences, sharp insights, and fresh voices.

👉 Write us here bliss@iss.nl

#DevelopmentStudies #GlobalDev

Humanitarian Observatories Series | USAID suspension is a wake-up call to address fragility of Humanitarian Actions in Ethiopia - Bliss On the first day in office of his second presidential term, Donald Trump signed an executive order freezing the USAID for 90 days, reportedly to assess the programme’s ‘effectiveness and alignment wit...

USAID suspension is a wake-up call to address fragility of Humanitarian Actions in Ethiopia

In the wake of the freeze, the authors argue that humanitarian actors and donors failed to strengthen local response capacity in Ethiopia.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8r9

Mobilizing against patriarchy and caste on Twitter: How women in India use digital spaces to speak up against gender-based violence - Bliss Digital spaces can amplify marginalized voices, but for many women, especially Dalit women in India, they often become sites of abuse. Navigating the intersection of gender, caste, and religion, Dalit...

New Blog Post: Mobilizing against patriarchy & caste on Twitter

Our recent MA graduates Sri Lakshmi, and Emaediong Akpan, explore how digital platforms challenge and reinforce inequalities, revealing that technology is never neutral.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8pI
#IWD2025 #AcademicChatter

Bodies Designed for Profit - Bliss Gender inequality and the discrimination of sexual and gender minorities in Nigeria are often attributed to sociocultural norms and unfavourable state policies. However, reflecting on body politics re...

New Blog Post📢: Bodies Designed for Profit

Our bodies are not just personal, they are sites of regulation, commodification, and profit. In this blog, Eno-Obong Etetim reflects on the dynamics of body politics activism in Nigeria.

Read the blog here: tinyurl.com/2969pd4k

Suggestions for Adaptation of UN and Other Refugee Treaties and Conventions that Can Make the World a Better Place for Refugees - Bliss The UN Refugee Convention contributes to asylum and migration-related challenges in the EU, as well as the often inadequate reception of refugees globally. In this Opinion piece, Tom De Veer explains ...

New Blog Post📢: Suggestions for Adaptation of UN and Other Refugee Treaties and Conventions

In this blog, Tom de Veer suggests key adjustments to improve EU asylum challenges, refugee protections, and global reception.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8nr

#Europe #asylum #AcademicChatter

Connected for Gender Equality: Digital Learning and Solidarity Building - Bliss Gender Studies worldwide confront the double whammy of the academic field's persistent urgency amidst heightened risk for its scholars and students. As a result, there is a pressing need for collabora...

New Blog Post🗣️: Connected for Gender Equality: Digital Learning and Solidarity Building

As gender Studies face challenges globally, hubs in #Pakistan, #Turkey, and #Netherlands are pioneering digital spaces for knowledge exchange and support.

Read here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8mi
#AcademicFreeedom

New Blog Post 📢The USAID freeze and its dire consequences for women and girls: In conversation with Plan International

In this blog, we explore the recent USAID funding freeze and its devastating consequences for women and girls.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8lz

Building Peace Through Time: Reflections on Post-Civil War Nigeria - Bliss Over fifty years later, the Nigerian Civil War, a pivotal conflict in the nation’s history, continues to influence contemporary discourse. The recent publication of A Journey in Service by former mili...

New Blog Post 📢 Building Peace Through Time: Reflections on Post-Civil War Nigeria

Over fifty years later, the Nigerian Civil War continues to influence contemporary discourse. We explore the peacebuilding process after the war.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8kh
#AcademicChatter