We are delighted to welcome three new Council members to the DSA. DSA is run by an elected Council who are all volunteers. Most members of Council are based in universities or development organisations in the UK. Two members of Council are based in the global South, and elected directly by global South members. As the DSA is a UK charity, our Council acts as a

Pritish Behuria is Reader at the University of Manchester’s Global Development Institute (GDI). He is also GDI’s Director of Research. He is also a Visiting Associate Professor at the South African Research Chair in Industrial Development at The University of Johannesburg, and a former British Academy Mid-Career Fellow 2024-2025. He is an Editor of the European Journal of Development Research, Reviews Editor of the Journal of Development Studies, and an Editorial Board member of Manchester University Press. He is a long-standing member of the DSA and founded the Politics and Political Economy study group in 2021, which he continues to co-convene. He also leads study groups at the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes, as well as the International Initiative for the Promotion of Political Economy. He has previously worked at development studies departments at the London School of Economics and Political Science, as well as at SOAS (where he completed his PhD in 2015). His work examines the political economy of late development under contemporary globalisation, with extensive research experience in Eastern and Southern Africa, as well as in India. His book, The Political Economy of Rwanda’s Rise, was published with Cambridge University Press in 2026. 

“The DSA is an organisation that is very close to my heart,” said Pritish. “For over a decade, I have been drawn to it because it champions the creation of pluralist spaces, with equity and diversity at the centre of its commitments. As a council member, I am committed to strengthening and expanding these spaces within development studies at a challenging time for the field, while championing the ideas, energies and ambitions of early-career researchers at the heart of our organisation.”

Dr Kate Pruce is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, with over 10 years of experience conducting research on social protection with a political economy lens. She is an active member of the Centre for Social Protection and the Food Equity Centre at IDS. Kate has worked extensively in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Zambia, as well as in the Asia-Pacific region. Kate is currently working with agencies including FAO, WFP, FCDO and Embassy of Ireland in a research and advisory role covering a range of social protection-related topics, including cash plus and food security and nutrition-sensitive social protection.

Kate has been an active member of DSA for over a decade, including the Politics and Political Economy study group. “I’m particularly interested in connecting DSA to external bodies, NGOs and think tanks drawing on my existing contacts through current work that can be beneficial to DSA,” Kate said. “This is an extremely valuable community that has supported me throughout my time at the Global Development Institute, Birmingham’s International Development Department and now the Institute of Development Studies. I benefitted significantly from the PGR and ECR sessions and I am keen to contribute to DSA as a member of the Council.”

Oliver Walton is a Reader in International Development at the University of Bath, specialising in the political economy of war-to-peace transitions, NGO politics, and the intersections between conflict, development, and peacebuilding. He haa acted as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator on major research projects in South Asia (Sri Lanka, Nepal) and the South West Asia and North Africa region (Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq). He has designed and delivered undergraduate and Masters programmes, currently serves as Director of Studies for Postgraduate Research, and is the incoming co-director for Bath’s Centre for Development Studies. Oliver is also the Chair of trustees for a UK development charity.

“Having helped organise DSA2025 in Bath and benefited from its networks over many years, I am keen to bring my experience to the Council to respond to this challenging moment where searching questions are being asked about our discipline’s future,” said Oliver. “In my current role as incoming Co-Director for CDS at Bath and as Director for Postgraduate Research, I’m particularly committed to improving support and creating opportunities for international, racially minoritised, and early career researchers in an increasingly precarious climate.”