In Pursuit of Development

India-China relations are entering a new phase of cautious re-engagement after five years of deep tension following the 2020 Galwan clash. Leaders have resumed meetings, direct flights have restarted, and diplomatic channels are active again. However, beneath these gestures lie enduring structural fault lines: a widening power asymmetry, unresolved border disputes, shifting public opinion in India, and Beijing’s tendency to view New Delhi through the prism of US–China rivalry. Dan Banik speaks with Manoj Kewalramani, Chairperson of the Indo-Pacific Studies Programme and a China Studies Fellow at the Takshashila Institution and author of Smokeless War: China’s Quest for Geopolitical Dominance. Together, they examine whether the current thaw represents meaningful stabilization or merely a fragile “cold peace.” The conversation explores how economic interdependence coexists with strategic mistrust, why India is pursuing de-risking rather than decoupling from China, and how domestic politics and public narratives shape policy choices in both countries. From a development perspective, the episode also asks whether policy lessons can travel across fundamentally different political systems. Can India draw operational insights from China’s infrastructure and governance successes without compromising democratic institutions? And is Beijing willing to accommodate India’s aspirations as an independent global power? Resources: Between Rivalry and Rapprochement: The Trials and Trajectory of India-China Relations (Kewalramani, 2026) Manoj Kewalramani's books and articles on China Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

In an era of intensifying great-power rivalry, shrinking foreign aid budgets, and declining faith in multilateralism, what role is left for global justice? In this wide-ranging conversation, the Yale philosopher Thomas Pogge joins Dan Banik in Oslo to examine whether morality still has a place in international politics or whether power has fully displaced principle. The episode explores the growing shift from soft power to hard power, the erosion of solidarity in global development, and the strategic competition between the United States, China, and Europe. Pogge reflects on why philosophers have become increasingly marginal in public life and argues that today’s global crises (from climate change to persistent poverty) cannot be solved by technocratic fixes alone. They require moral clarity, institutional imagination, and renewed commitment to shared values. The discussion also turns to the rise of the Global South and the need for stronger collective bargaining institutions, particularly within the African continent. Pogge outlines the Ecological Impact Fund — a bold new mechanism designed to reward green innovation based on real ecological impact in the Global South — and explains how rethinking intellectual property rules could accelerate climate and pollution solutions where they are needed most. Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

In this episode of In Pursuit of Development, Dan Banik is joined by Dr. David McNair, Executive Director of ONE.org, for a conversation on the future of activism and global development in an age of overlapping crises. At a time when debt distress is rising, humanitarian funding is falling, and trust in multilateral institutions is under strain, what does effective advocacy look like? Drawing on two decades of campaigning to reduce child mortality, unlock billions for climate and sustainable development, and reform elements of the global financial architecture, McNair reflects on what has worked in the past and why some of those strategies may no longer be sufficient. The discussion explores the politics of solidarity, the rise of agency in the Global South, the cost of capital facing African economies, and the growing calls to modernize global financial governance.  Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

In this episode of In Pursuit of Development, Dan Banik speaks with Yale historian David Engerman about how “development” became one of the most powerful and contested ideas of the modern era. Drawing on Engerman’s 2025 book Apostles of Development: Six Economists and the World They Made, the conversation follows six influential South Asian economists and policymakers, Amartya Sen, Jagdish Bhagwati, Manmohan Singh, Mahbub ul Haq, Rehman Sobhan, and Lal Jayawardene, from Cambridge classrooms to planning commissions and global institutions. Along the way, they unpack the enduring arguments that still shape policy today: poverty versus inequality, markets versus states, trade versus protection, and expertise versus politics. The episode also explores how ideas associated with human development emerged, why “the Global South” became a category with political force, and what these intellectual friendships and rivalries reveal about the promises and tensions inside the development project. Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

This episode of In Pursuit of Development explores how AI is reshaping the way development organizations learn from evidence, unlocking lessons buried in evaluations and reports, and helping practitioners make better decisions in complex, fast-moving settings. Dan Banik speaks with Lindsey Moore, CEO and Founder of DevelopMetrics, about how ethical AI and predictive analytics can make development evidence genuinely usable — turning decades of evaluations into structured, searchable insight for better decisions.Lindsey draws on her experience in USAID and her work building domain-trained models to explain why the sector’s challenge is not an evidence shortage, but rather an evidence usability gap. Together Lindsey and Dan discuss what it takes to build context-aware systems: transparent taxonomies, careful human labeling, and models grounded in local perspectives rather than default assumptions embedded in general-purpose AI.The conversation also explores how large-scale evaluation archives can be transformed into institutional memory, strengthening professional judgment and helping organizations learn faster, reduce waste, and target interventions more precisely.In this episode:AI for global development beyond hype: What actually works in practice.Why definitions and taxonomies shape results (and power).How to reduce bias and improve context in development AI.Evidence infrastructure, knowledge management, and decision workflows.Resources:When USAID Shut Down, Its Lessons Nearly Vanished. AI Helped Recover Them (Stanford Social Innovation Review, December 2025)Integrating human-centered AI for land use policy: Insights from agricultural interventions in international development (Land Use Policy, 2025) Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

Vietnam is often held up as one of the world’s standout development success stories—rapid growth, dramatic poverty reduction, and a transformation from low-income to middle-income status within a single generation. But what happens when success starts to produce new tensions: rising inequality, changing public services, mounting pollution, and a consumption boom that reshapes everyday life?Dan Banik is joined by Arve Hansen, Research Professor at the University of Oslo’s Centre for Global Sustainability and author of Consumption and Vietnam’s New Middle Classes: Societal Transformations and Everyday Life (2022, Palgrave). Together, they explore Vietnam’s development model after Đổi Mới and the paradox of an officially socialist, one-party state delivering a globally integrated “market economy with a socialist orientation.”Rather than staying at the level of GDP and policy slogans, the conversation moves into the lived experience of development: mobility and the motorbike society, the rising status of car ownership, urban change, air quality, and how shifting diets and “meatification” reflect new middle-class aspirations. Dan and Arve also discuss Vietnam’s push for greener growth and electrification, the politics of land and infrastructure, and why sustainability transitions can become socially and politically sensitive.Finally, the episode situates Vietnam in today’s unstable global economy (e.g., trade shifts, geopolitics, and growing pressure to diversify) while asking what the next phase of development could look like as Vietnam tries to avoid the middle-income trap and sustain progress in a warming world. Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

Electricity is often treated as a basic development milestone. But in large parts of the African continent, the deeper challenge is not only connecting people to the grid, but ensuring power is affordable and reliable enough to support jobs, industrialization, and economic transformation. This episode explores what energy poverty really means, why progress is uneven across regions, and what it would take to move from “first access” to true “energy for growth.”Todd Moss is founder and executive director of the Energy for Growth Hub. He is a widely recognized expert on energy, development finance, and foreign policy and writes the popular Substack Eat More Electrons. Todd previously served as U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.The conversation begins with a critical distinction: electricity “access” can mask a much larger problem of unreliable supply. Todd argues that billions of people live with power that exists on paper but fails in practice as outages, high tariffs, and weak grids erode the benefits electrification is supposed to deliver. From there, Todd and Dan unpack the persistent tension between household electrification and powering firms. Dan raises the moral and political case for universal household access, while Todd makes the argument that job creation requires a different kind of electricity (dense, dependable, and scaled for industry) alongside the off-grid solutions that can improve welfare quickly.They then turn to policy and investment. Why do so many countries remain stuck with utilities that are not creditworthy? What makes large generation projects “bankable,” and why do credible offtakers and guarantees matter so much? Todd explains how renewed global interest in critical minerals could become an anchor for bigger energy systems, especially if governments negotiate strategically and use mining and processing to unlock broader infrastructure that supports non-mining sectors too.The episode also widens out to geopolitics and development finance, including what is changing in Washington and what new tools (particularly U.S. development finance) might mean for energy investment going forward. Finally, Dan and Todd tackle nuclear power: why it remains controversial, why new small modular designs are changing the conversation, and what the long-term geopolitical risks look like when nuclear fuel and technology can tie countries into decades-long dependencies.Resources:Eat More Electrons SubstackEnergy for Growth Hub websiteGlobal Market for Advanced Nuclear MapWho in Africa is Ready for Nuclear Power?PPA Watch Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

As the year comes to a close, this special year-end episode of In Pursuit of Development offers a reflective look back at the conversations that have shaped Season 6 so far. Host Dan Banik brings together the main ideas, debates, and tensions explored across the season, drawing connections between discussions on the rise of the Global South, shifting power in a multipolar world, democratic resilience, and the growing strain on multilateral institutions.The episode revisits how development thinking is being challenged by shrinking aid budgets, climate change, energy insecurity, and widening global inequalities, while also exploring the promises and risks of new technologies such as artificial intelligence. Throughout the reflection, Dan emphasizes the importance of human development, accountability, and solidarity in an increasingly complex global landscape.Looking ahead, the episode outlines key themes the podcast will tackle in the new year, including energy promotion and energy security, the intellectual foundations of development thinking, consumption and development linkages, the role of activism, AI and development, and a journalist’s perspective on global development. This episode is both a guide for listeners who want to catch up on Season 6 and an invitation to join the ongoing conversation about where global development is headed next. Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

Dan Banik and Florian Krampe explore how climate change is reshaping development and security debates -- not as a single cause of conflict, but as a force that intensifies existing vulnerabilities in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Moving beyond environmental impacts alone, the discussion examines how climate stress interacts with poverty, inequality, weak governance, and insecurity, with far-reaching consequences for livelihoods, stability, and peace.Dr. Florian Krampe is Director of Studies for Peace and Development at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Together, Dan and Florian discuss why climate action and development priorities are too often treated as separate agendas, how shrinking aid budgets and unequal access to climate finance undermine resilience in low-income countries, and why rising defense spending risks crowding out investments in health, energy, education, and climate adaptation.The episode also turns to Europe’s changing security landscape and the growing disconnect between military preparedness and broader understandings of security. Drawing on research and real-world examples, the conversation explores environmental peacebuilding and asks when climate-related interventions can reduce risks, support cooperation, and contribute to more sustainable peace outcomes. Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

Foreign aid is under pressure. Budgets are shrinking, politics are hardening, and trust between donors and recipients is wearing thin. In this episode of In Pursuit of Development, Dan Banik speaks with Nilima Gulrajani, Principal Research Fellow at the Overseas Development Institute, about what aid has achieved, where it’s faltering, and how it must evolve in a fractured world.Drawing on more than twenty years of research on aid architecture, bilateral reform, and the rise of Southern providers, Nilima unpacks the deep tension between altruism and national interest and what happens when generosity becomes geopolitics. Together, Nilima and Dan explore how development aid can stay credible and effective amid a “broken social contract,” why smarter debt policy may matter more than bigger budgets, and what smart development power might look like for mid-sized donors such as Norway or Sweden.As multilateralism weakens and the UN system faces acute financial strain, the conversation turns to who will step up (e.g., Gulf funds, Southern providers, or new hybrid coalitions) and how reform, not reinvention, could restore both trust and purpose to global cooperation. Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

Dan Banik sits down with Benedicte Bull, professor of political science at the University of Oslo’s Centre for Global Sustainability, to unpack how Latin America understands (and helps redefine) the idea of the Global South.Once used loosely to describe developing nations, the term has gained new political weight as global power becomes more diffuse and as countries in the South push back against the dominance of Western-led institutions. Drawing on years of research on Latin American elites, politics, and relations with China and the United States, Benedicte explains how the region navigates this shifting landscape: balancing economic pragmatism with questions of identity, solidarity, and autonomy.The conversation moves from trade and diplomacy to development and sustainability, exploring how China’s growing influence has changed local economies and what this means for industrial capacity, climate policy, and inequality. Together, they reflect on the region’s long intellectual tradition, from dependency theory to modern debates on environmental justice, and why Latin American experiences continue to shape the global conversation on growth, democracy, and fairness.** Check out this recent special issue of The Forum for Development Studies co-edited by Benedicte and Dan: The Rebirth of the Global South: Geopolitics, Imageries and Developmental Realities (2025)🎧 In Pursuit of Development explores the ideas, policies, and people shaping global progress. Subscribe, rate, and share the show to help others join the conversation. Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

Smuggling is often portrayed as a shadowy threat to state authority — a world of criminals, traffickers, and dangerous border crossings. But in many parts of North Africa, smuggling is a fundamental part of the political economy. It sustains livelihoods, shapes state–society relations, and reveals how power actually works at the margins.In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with political scientist Max Gallien about his acclaimed new book, Smugglers and the State: Negotiating the Maghreb at Its Margins. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in Tunisia and Morocco, Max shows how states do not simply fight smuggling. They regulate, tolerate, and sometimes rely on it. Together, Dan and Max unpack the “informal authoritarian bargains” that allow illegal and semi-legal economies to operate with the state’s active knowledge, and how these arrangements distribute opportunity, risk, and legitimacy in borderland communities.The conversation explores why smuggling persists, how border closures and security interventions reshape local economies, and what all of this means for development policy at a time when fences and walls are rapidly multiplying.  Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with Cecilia Marcela Bailliet, the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights and International Solidarity and Professor at the University of Oslo’s Faculty of Law about what solidarity truly means in an era of geopolitical tension, shrinking aid budgets, and growing inward-looking politics. Cecilia argues that solidarity is far more than a political catchphrase. It is an enabling right that links human rights, peace, and development, and demands concrete action to include those who are excluded.Together they explore how solidarity can take shape locally and globally, how civil society continues to push back despite tightening restrictions, and how corporations, technology, and even artificial intelligence can either strengthen or undermine our collective responsibilities. The conversation also touches on double standards in international responses, the rise of exclusionary “nativist solidarities,” and why building a culture of peace remains essential in today’s fractured world.This wide-ranging discussion invites listeners to rethink what we owe one another and why solidarity, properly understood, might be one of the most powerful tools we have for shaping a more just and humane future. Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with economist Dean Karlan, the Frederic Esser Nemmers Distinguished Professor at Northwestern University and former Chief Economist of USAID, about his effort to build a new evidence-driven office inside the world’s largest bilateral aid agency. Drawing on his experience from 2022 to 2025, Dean reflects on the ambition behind creating the Office of the Chief Economist, the challenges of navigating congressional holds and bureaucratic resistance, and the excitement of assembling a team committed to cost-effectiveness and rigorous, science-based decision-making.Dan and Dean explore what it means to introduce institutional reform in an agency as sprawling and politically exposed as USAID, how internal processes shape billions of dollars in global programming, and why transparent learning (including acknowledging failure) remains essential but difficult in development. They also discuss the dramatic shift that followed recent political changes in Washington, the speed with which parts of USAID’s architecture were dismantled, and what this means for partner countries, soft power, and the future of global development cooperation. Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

As globalization gives way to fragmentation, the politics of finance and development are shifting fast. Tariffs, trade wars, and geopolitical rivalries are redrawing economic maps, while traditional sources of aid are shrinking. In this environment, low- and middle-income countries are searching for new partners and new pathways to growth—and China’s role looms large.Over the past two decades, China has financed and built roads, railways, power grids, and digital infrastructure across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. But since the pandemic, its overseas investments have evolved: fewer mega-projects, greater attention to debt risks, and a growing emphasis on clean energy, technology, and localized, value-added production.In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with Hong Bo, Professor of Financial Economics at SOAS, University of London, about the changing nature of Chinese investment and what it reveals about the future of global development finance. They discuss how sovereign risk shapes investment decisions, why small and “green” projects are replacing large ones, and how African and other developing countries can strengthen their bargaining power in negotiations. The conversation also touches on the politics of transparency, the role of private Chinese investors, and the possibilities for industrialization in a world of shrinking aid and shifting alliances. Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

In this episode of In Pursuit of Development, Dan Banik sits down with Rachel Glennerster, President of the Center for Global Development (CGD), to discuss how the global development landscape is being reshaped by shifting politics, tighter budgets, and new sources of innovation and influence. From Washington to New Delhi, the narrative of development is evolving—no longer centered solely on aid, but on how countries and coalitions define and deliver progress on their own terms.Rachel shares insights from her time in government, academia, and policy research, reflecting on how development agencies can make tough choices, simplify their missions, and stay focused on impact when resources are scarce. She and Dan delve into the future of the World Bank, IMF, and USAID, the need for smarter prioritization among donors, and the vital importance of protecting evidence-based interventions that save lives and expand opportunity.The conversation also moves beyond institutions to the tools and partnerships shaping tomorrow’s development practice—from artificial intelligence and climate innovation to South–South Cooperation, where countries like India, China and Kenya are sharing solutions across continents. Rachel Glennerster on X and Linkedin Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

Malawi has once again gone to the polls, reaffirming its reputation as one of Africa’s most enduring democracies. In September 2025, former president Peter Mutharika returned to power after defeating Lazarus Chakwera in a peaceful transfer of power that defied global trends of democratic decline. Despite widespread poverty, inflation, and economic stagnation, Malawians continue to place their trust in the ballot box. In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with Happy Kayuni about why democracy endures in Malawi, how civic faith survives amid hardship, and what this resilience reveals about the future of democracy in developing countries.Resources:Political Transition and Inclusive Development in Malawi: The Democratic Dividend (Open access, Edited by Dan Banik and Blessings Chinsinga)Happy Kayuni on X and LinkedIn Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

One year after a deadly train-station collapse in Novi Sad that killed sixteen people, Serbia’s student-led protests have become a powerful challenge to corruption, impunity, and democratic decay.In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with Nemanja Džuverović, Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Belgrade, about how grief turned into the country’s largest civic movement in decades. Together they explore what the protests reveal about Serbia’s political system, the rise of “stabilocracy,” and the fragile state of democracy across the Balkans.Dan and Nemanja — colleagues in the Circle U European University Alliance’s Democracy Hub — also discuss shifting global alliances, China’s growing presence, and why young Serbians are losing faith in the European project.A story of resilience and renewal, this conversation offers rare insight into how civic courage can revive democracy from the ground up. Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with Jorge Heine, a seasoned diplomat, former Minister of State, and Chile’s ambassador to China, India, and South Africa — three pivotal countries at the center of today’s shifting world order. Drawing on his extensive diplomatic experience, Heine discusses the growing influence of the Global South and the resurgence of active non-alignment as nations navigate an era defined by U.S.–China rivalry. Together they explore how countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America are redefining their foreign policies—resisting pressure to choose sides while advancing their own development agendas. Heine, who is also the co-author (with Carlos Fortin and Carlos Ominami) of the timely new book The Non-Aligned World: Striking Out in an Era of Great Power Competition, argues that this movement signals a more confident and connected Global South, reshaping global governance, development finance, and the balance of power in the twenty-first century.Resources:The Non-Aligned World: Striking Out in an Era of Great Power Competition (Polity, 2025)Jorge Heine, Global Development Policy Center, Boston UniversityJorge Heine on X and LInkedIn Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com

In this episode of In Pursuit of Development, Dan Banik speaks with Pedro Conceição, Director of the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report Office, about the enduring power and renewed urgency of the human development idea.The conversation begins with the origins of the Human Development Reports, tracing how Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen transformed a moral vision into a measurable framework that challenged conventional notions of progress. Pedro reflects on how this approach—anchored in expanding people’s choices and capabilities—remains vital in today’s polarized and uncertain world, where attention is often captured by crises rather than long-term human flourishing. Dan and Pedro discuss the latest Human Development Report, A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI, which examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping economies, societies, and the very notion of human agency. They explore both the promise and the peril of AI — how it can enhance learning, health, and livelihoods, but also deepen inequalities if access, bias, and control are left unchecked. The episode also touches on widening global inequalities, energy poverty in Africa, and the foundational investments (in electricity, connectivity, and education) required to ensure that AI serves as a tool for empowerment rather than exclusion.Resources:UNDP Human Development ReportsPedro Conceição on LinkedIn and X  Host:Dan Banik LinkedInX: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod Subscribe:Apple Spotify YouTubehttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com