Research

Solid and socially relevant research at ISS

Global Development and Social Justice Research programme

As a leader in the field of development studies, the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) finds responses to today’s global problems. Issues such as poverty, inequality, migration, conflict and ecology are important in the ISS research agenda.

Our Global Development and Social Justice research programme takes a critical approach to policy responses that are formulated to social, economic and political issues. The critical attitude is the result of a deeply felt need to analyse the way in which power differences among groups of people result in policies and practices that are highly beneficial to the powerful and detrimental to the powerless.

Research highlights

PhD defence by Azucena Gollaz Moran

Women's daily urban mobilities to work by public transportation in Guadalajara, Mexico

Azucena Gollaz Moran

Congratulations to Dr Joan Njagi

For the defence of her PhD thesis on tensions surrounding adolenscent girls' SRHR in Kenya

Joan Njagi during her PhD defence

New €6.9m project addressing climate resilience in Africa

How does climate change impact African communities? This project addresses threats and uncertainties

Logo Climares project

Research values

ISS is committed to a more just social order at a global scale. We combine rigorous academic research with high societal relevance that has the potential to drive action and contribute to change:

  • Critical - we use a critical approach and analyze how power relations have produced policies and practices that are highly beneficial to the powerful and detrimental to the powerless
  • Participatory - we produce knowledge with stakeholders, rather than only for them and seek to produce knowledge in ways that engage those most affected
  • Societally relevant - we work in partnership with others, including NGOs, social movements, and other local, national and global networks and benchmark our research with the needs of society
  • Embracing the global North and South - we expect research findings from both areas to inform one another
  • Bridging theory and practice - we aim to take our knowledge out into wider world in different ways
  • Linking with teaching - we seek to bring the research we undertake into the classroom to inform, challenge and inspire our students

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