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Last year was perhaps the most electorally-charged year in West Africa’s nearly six decades of independence. Numerous local, legislative and national elections were held peacefully and conclusively in no fewer than seven states: Benin, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea and Niger. Brea...

It’s difficult to be wholeheartedly critical of colonialism when one’s family history is so closely intertwined with it. My great-grandparents joined the historical wave of Chinese labour emigration of the late 19th and early 20th century to what was then British Malaya....

Immigrants and refugees, especially those from developing nations, are often portrayed by segments of the media and policy makers as an economic burden, a threat to our social cohesion and “our way of life.” However, immigrants and immigrant youth can help build nations like Canada. They are a great...

Co-authored by researchers Hugo Hollanders  and Nordine Es-Sadki, the European Innovation Scoreboard gives a comparative analysis of innovation performance across EU member states, other European countries, and regional neighbours. According to this year’s results, EU innovation performance co...

When President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris agreement, the landmark climate accord signed by 196 nations that came into force in November 2016, the decision caused a significant negative backlash among other signatory countries. Given that the US is one of the world’s large...

Trust in experts has plummeted in recent years, in our ‘post-truth‘ era. Yet humanity’s most complex problems — from violent extremism to food security to climate change — will never be solved by late-night tweets or political isolationism. What seems to be the key are ...

Climate change is not only about the environment – it also has major financial and institutional implications. This was the backstory to a recent report on ‘Risk Financing for Rural Climate Resilience in the Greater Mekong Subregion’ co-authored by GPAC² fellow Ornsaran Pomme Manuamorn. The report w...

Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the United States has been performing what seems to be a partial withdrawal from the international stage. This retreat is sometimes purposeful, as when the administration realised its campaign promise to exit the Paris climate agreement. But it is al...

In this study, I considered the needs of refugees and the responsibilities of states based on the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. The main question is whether or not terrorism affects the right and principle of asylum seeking. Another focus is the link between refugees and nation...

Dr. Melissa Siegel, who runs the Migration and Development group at UNU-MERIT, was appointed Professor of Migration Studies at Maastricht University in August 2016. She gives her inaugural lecture on ‘Migration &: The Depth and Breadth of Migration Studies’ on 2 June 2017. Howard Hudson caught u...

I'm a PhD candidate at the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance and UNU-MERIT, doing independent research on labour supply effects of health insurance, with a particular focus on developing countries. At the conference, I will present findings from my recent work on the ‘Effects of health insura...

I am an Indian, born and raised in East Africa, living in Canada, and am married to an American of Polish descent. Something I have always grappled with is that although I have integrated well everywhere I have lived, I don't feel like I fully fit in anywhere either, and I struggle to pinpoint a sin...

In higher education, group support can mean the difference between failure and success. Put simply, when groups perform well, individuals are more motivated; so if we want students to succeed, we need to help and support each and every cohort. But that of course is easier said than done! In a classr...

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are among the world’s most neglected groups and issues related to their health care are barely addressed in the Sustainable Development Goals. However, the recent International Conference on Population Development under the theme ‘ICPD beyond 2014’ declared an urg...

“India is one of the fastest growing countries in Asia, backed by strong knowledge intensive sectors – pharmaceuticals, chemical automotive, telecommunications, and aerospace to name but a few,” says DEIP Programme Coordinator Dr. Michiko Iizuka. “India is also exploring new models of development th...

Continuing our drive to ensure research is both understood and applied globally, we travelled to Ghana for the second round of our science reporting workshop ‘Reach & Turn’. Along with our sister institute UNU-INRA and the UN Info Centre Accra we led two days of learning and debate with around 50 re...

The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has selected the project ‘Leading to Success: SMART Choices and SMART Tools’, submitted by project leader Dr. Mindel van de Laar, for funding in a competitive selection process to encourage open and online education. We obtained the SURF subsidy t...

A joint post by Dr. Mindel van de Laar and Prof. David Van Slyke. ••• Governing is no longer the sole responsibility of states – today’s reality is far more inclusive and demands coordination with NGOs, non-profits, and the private sector. These are changes driven by the sheer complexity of policy c...

Researchers from China and Europe met in Maastricht on 24 April 2017 to discuss research related to the SINCERE project, or ‘Sino-European Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency’. The workshop was hosted by UNU-MERIT researchers Prof. René Kemp and Dr. Serdar Türkeli and participants included Yong...

US President Donald Trump has called global warming a “hoax” perpetrated by the Chinese and appointed a foe of environmental regulations to head up America’s Environmental Protection Agency. On April 22, which annually marks Earth Day, thousands of scientists around the globe marched to defend the r...