Development Resources: The Ukraine Crisis
[Last Updated 08/04/2022]
On 24 February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine. The conflict is considered an international act of aggression and is heralded as a turning point within the global ordering of power.
It is already having significant implications for global development, particularly in the form of the refugee and humanitarian crisis. More than ten million people have now fled their homes; four million who have left Ukraine, while an estimated 6.5 million people are thought to be displaced inside the country itself, according to the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency).
The crisis is having an impact well beyond Europe, with rising fuel and food prices making waves across the globe.
The nature of the international response to Ukraine will also have important implications for international development policy, particularly within countries like the UK where development has been subsumed within offices of foreign affairs and/or defense.
Importantly, the conflict should act to underline the significance of other crises that deserve more attention than they are currently receiving, including in Afghanistan, Palestine, Syria and Yemen. However, the nature of the current international response, and the racialised tone of some political and media commentary on it, has served to highlight the highly imbalanced nature of western policy priorities, in ways that apparently contradict the ‘universalism’ of the values being espoused.
Here we curate some of the emerging commentary and research that is tracking the developmental dimensions of the Ukraine crisis and its wider ramifications, both to keep members up to speed with the fast-changing situation and to help ensure that concerns over development, social justice and solidarity are central to current debates.
We invite members who are working directly on issues relevant to this and other crises to send us materials, perspectives and content that can also be showcased here. To submit an item, please email [email protected] with Development Resources: The Ukraine Crisis as the email subject.
Pieces are organised by publication date, with the latest appearing first and older resources accessible by scrolling down. All pieces will open in a new window when clicking on the piece title. Every effort has been made to select pieces that are fully open access, but in some instances articles and resources might be behind a paywall. Please note that the individual resources reflect the opinions, views and research of the individual author(s). These opinions may not reflect official policy positions of the DSA.
A ‘Silent Victim’: How Nature Becomes a Casualty of War (The New York Times, 13 APRIL 2022)
The crisis in Ukraine is likely to affect Sub-Saharan #Africa’s economies (a Twitter thread by World Bank Africa, 13 APRIL 2022). Click here for full thread.
Peace urgently needed for Ethiopia (Lyla Mehta opinion piece for Institute of Development Studies, 12 APRIL 2022).
The War in Ukraine Raises New Questions for EU Foreign Policy (International Crisis Group, 05 APRIL 2022)
LISTEN: What does war in Ukraine mean for the climate? (Podcast Episodes in two parts.Part 1: Russian gas and Part 2: Energy Security) via The Climate Question available on @BBCSounds (23 MARCH 2022 and 04 APRIL 2022).
LISTEN: How the Ukraine war is affecting oil and gas markets (Podcast Episode from Dollar & Sense: The Brookings Trade Podcast, hosted by David Dollar, Brookings Institution Senior Fellow, featuring Samantha Gross, Director of Energy Security and Climate Initiative at Brookings, 04 APRIL 2022).
FAO’s responses to the crisis in Ukraine and its impacts on global food security: data analyses, policy recommendations, and actions on the ground (updated regularly).
Rishi Sunak pledge to match Ukraine donations funded by cutting aid to other countries (The Independent, 31 MARCH 2022)
Ukraine war cuts global growth prospects by 1% (The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 31 MARCH 2022)
The wider implications of the Ukraine crisis (BOND News, 30 MARCH 2022)
The Ukraine’s war impact on developing countries (Podcast Episode from Dollar & Sense: The Brookings Trade Podcast, hosted by David Dollar, Brookings Institution Senior Fellow, featuring Indermit Gill, Vice-President for Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions at the World Bank and a Brookings non-resident Fellow, 28 MARCH 2022).
The Ukrainian Exodus: Europe Must Reckon With Its Selective Treatment of Refugees (Foreign Affairs, 28 MARCH 2028)
The Russia-Ukraine war: A watershed moment for EU foreign policy? (LSE Blog, 23 MARCH 2022)
Ukraine, Afghanistan, climate change and Covid-19 highlight the need for an urgent return to 0.7 (BOND News, 21 MARCH 2022)
Victims of other humanitarian crises need urgent help too (The Guardian, 21 MARCH 2022)
Ukraine war highlights urgent need for worldwide humanitarian support (World Economic Forum, 21 MARCH 2022)
The Guardian view on forgotten wars: we must not neglect conflict’s other victims (The Guardian, 17 MARCH 2022)
Ukraine war poses growing threat to global food security (SciDevNet, 16 MARCH 2022)
Ukraine war’s impact on trade and development (The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 16 MARCH 2022)
Boost aid spending to help Ukraine, says David Cameron (The Independent, 16 MARCH 2022)
Ukraine – Can social protection be sustained and support a humanitarian response? (CIDT Brief, 14 MARCH 2022)
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: What does it mean for Africa? By Yusuf Bangura (Premium Times, 11 MARCH 2022).
Why We Need a Post-Colonial Lens to Look at Ukraine and Russia (Hyperallergic, 11 MARCH 2022)
Russia’s War in Ukraine Threatens Joint Missions to Mars, Venus and the Moon (Scientific American, 11 MARCH 2022)
WATCH: We need responsibility-sharing across Europe for Ukraine’s refugees (how many Ukrainian refugees can Europe receive?) Via Aljazeera, 10 MARCH 2022)
LSE Expertise: Ukraine and the global response – LSE academic research and commentary on the unfolding situation in Ukraine (LSE Blog, MARCH 2022).
Explaining the remarkable shift in European responses to refugees following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (LSE Blog, 09 MARCH 2022)
SAVE THE CHILDREN UK STATEMENT ON THE UKRAINE REFUGEE CRISIS (Save the Children, 09 MARCH 2022)
Ukraine: the UK is failing to meet its obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention (The Conversation, 09 MARCH 2022)
Doubly Displaced in Ukraine: “I’ve seen it all before”, Olga’s Chronicles: Day 9 of War (Cov19: Chronicles from the Margins investigates how diverse migrant groups (asylum-seekers, refugees, migrant workers and undocumented people) are responding to COVID-19, supported by The Open University, 08 MARCH 2022).
Developing economies must act now to dampen the shocks from the ukraine conflict (Brookings Future Development Blog, 08 MARCH 2022)
The Living Nightmare in Ukraine: Europe’s Latest Refugee Crisis ( Border Criminologies, Oxford University, 07 MARCH 2022)
Not every war gets the same coverage as Russia’s invasion — and that has consequences (NPR, 04 MARCH 2022).
The Ukraine War: A Global Crisis? (International Crisis Group, 04 MARCH 2022)
The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine: what do we know so far? (BOND, 01 MARCH 2022)
‘Double standards’: Western coverage of Ukraine war criticised (Aljazeera, 27 FEBRUARY 2022)
Statement by Unicef Executive Director Catherine M. Russell on children in Ukraine (Unicef, 24 FEBRUARY 2022)
Feature Image by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash