ODI | Think Change

As world leaders gather in New York for the 81st Session of the High level UN General Assembly, questions about power, leadership and the future of international cooperation are high on the agenda. But what does meaningful leadership look like for people living through displacement? People with lived experience of displacement are often the furthest from the decisions that shape their lives, despite being best placed to understand what their communities need. While international institutions ...

What happens when communities are forced to govern themselves? Across conflict-affected contexts, communities are often doing far more than surviving the breakdown or failure of formal institutions. They are organising, delivering services, making decisions, representing their communities and creating new forms of governance - sometimes long before peace agreements are signed or states are rebuilt. In this episode of Think Change, we explore what makes these systems legitimate, how movements ...

Humanitarian crises are often understood through the lens of immediate need: more aid, more access and more funding. But ODI Global’s new report Oppression, Liberation and Humanitarianism in Palestine, Myanmar and Sudan argues that we must also understand the systems of power that produce and sustain suffering. In this episode of Think Change, guests Dustin Barter, Hala Al Karib and Athena Rayburn explore what humanitarian action can learn from movements of solidarity and resistance and what ...

This episode of Think Change explores the growing environmental footprint of artificial intelligence – from rising energy demand and emissions to the vast quantities of water needed to power and cool the data centres behind today’s AI revolution. As Europe experiences another summer of record-breaking heat, devastating wildfires and growing water stress, the race to develop and deploy AI raises urgent questions about how we balance technological progress with climate goals. Can the environmen...

Following Andy Burnham’s appointment as Britain's Prime Minister, there is renewed interest in what some have described as ‘Manchesterism’ – a political philosophy rooted in place, economic renewal and the belief that national prosperity begins with strong local communities. But if this approach were to shape government thinking, what could it mean beyond Britain’s borders? This episode explores whether a place-based politics could shift Britain’s foreign policy. Would international eng...