CESA

Luís Pais Bernardo presents a seminar at the 2nd Research Workshop on the Global Gateway Initiative at the Technical University of Munich
CEsA researcher, PhD in Sociology, and Political Science specialist Luís Pais Bernardo delivered the seminar Connecting Markets: Business Power and the EU Global Gateway at the 2nd Workshop on the Global Gateway Initiative, held on 13–14 December 2024 at the Technical University of Munich.
Bernardo and a group of scholars specialising in political economy and the European Union gathered to critically examine the political and economic implications of the Global Gateway strategy. This strategy aims to enhance global infrastructure, promote sustainable development, and strengthen the EU’s geopolitical influence.
The workshop summary is available in English on the university’s website: https://www.hfp.tum.de/en/governance/news/article/workshop/
Author: CEsA Communication Team (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
Image: Astrid Eckert

Cinema and Decolonisation Cycle to screen award-winning Mozambican documentary “A Memory in Three Acts” on 8 March at ISEG, with free admission
The 2024/2025 season of the Cinema and Decolonisation Cycle has been running since November 2024, hosting cineclub-style sessions to explore the legacies and memories of decolonisation. The next session, scheduled for March 8, will feature a screening of the Mozambican production A Memory in Three Acts (Inadelso Cossa, 2016, 64 min), which has received awards at international film festivals, including the renowned Zanzibar Festival – one of the most significant in Africa – and the Afrikafilm Festival, a highly regarded African film festival in Europe. The film will be shown at 10:00 a.m. in Auditorium 2 at ISEG (Rua do Quelhas 6, Quelhas Building, 2nd Floor – Cloister), with free admission.
Following the film screening, a Q&A session will take place with guests (to be confirmed).
The documentary 48 is based on the archives of the The International and State Defense Police (PIDE) and presents photographs of political prisoners taken during the 48 years of the Portuguese dictatorship (1926–1974). The work unveils the mechanisms through which the authoritarian system sought to perpetuate itself.
Synopsis – Uma Memória em Três Atos (“A Memory in Three Acts”, Inadelso Cossa, 2016, Mozambique, 64 min)
A Memory in Three Acts is a film about post-colonial trauma and the crisis of collective memory, in which anonymous characters embark on a journey into their colonial past to heal this open wound. Former political prisoners return to the site where they were tortured to confront the colonial ghost and face their post-torture trauma. A film-essay on colonialism and violence that questions the duty of memory.
Credits
Production: 16mmfilmes (Mozambique)
Co-production: Weltfilm Gmbh (Alemanhã)
Direction: Inadelso Cossa
Cinematography: Inadelso Cossa
Sound: Moises Langa
Post-Production Direction: Memmo Boerema / Inadelso Cossa
Awards
Prize of Flemish Committion for Unesco for best documentary at Afrikafilm festival Leuvren Belgian 2020
Especial Jury Prize no Festival Internacional de Cinema de Zanzibar 2018, Tanzania
Menção Honrosa no Festival Internacional do Filme Etnografico do Recife 2017, Brasil
About the Cinema and Decolonisation Cycle
The sessions of the Cinema and Decolonisation Cycle will continue until June 2025, with screenings taking place in Auditorium 2 at ISEG. This initiative runs parallel to the exhibition Deconstructing Colonialism, Decolonising the Imagination, on display at the National Museum of Ethnology until 2 November.
Check out the programme below:
Decolonisation must be understood as an ongoing process, one that needs to be embraced and integrated into social, political, cultural, and personal dynamics. The project aims to create an open, dynamic space for sharing memories, narratives, dialogues, and reflections. It is coordinated by researcher Jessica Falconi (CEsA/ISEG RESEARCH/ISEG/ULisboa) and curated by researcher and filmmaker Isabel Noronha (CEsA/ISEG RESEARCH/ISEG/ULisboa) and filmmaker Camilo de Sousa.
Coordination: Jessica Falconi (CEsA/ISEG RESEARCH/ISEG/ULisboa)
Curation: Isabel Noronha (CEsA/ISEG RESEARCH/ISEG/ULisboa) and Camilo de Sousa
Scientific Consulting: Isabel Castro Henriques (CEsA/ISEG RESEARCH/ISEG/ULisboa), Joana Pereira Leite (CEsA/ISEG RESEARCH/ISEG/ULisboa), and Ana Mafalda Leite (CEsA/ISEG RESEARCH/ISEG/ULisboa)
Collaboration: Luca Fazzini and João Moreira Silva
Support: CEsA/ISEG RESEARCH/ISEG/ULisboa
Read more:
A Memory in Three Acts – NILUS/CEsA Website
Cycle of Cinema and Decolonization | Screening of the film “A Memory in Three Acts” – ISEG Website
A Memory in Three Acts – Trailer on YouTube
Author: CEsA Communication Team (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
Image: Reproduction

CEsA Working Paper investigates the complex relationship between forced displacement and human development
The research concludes that the most urgent factors driving forced migration are political violence, particularly civil conflicts, and climate change—both exacerbated by economic crises, food insecurity, and infrastructure damage.
How has refugee outflow evolved internationally? What are the root causes of forced displacement, and what characteristics do refugee-sending countries share? Is there a relationship between forced migration and human development? These are the key research questions explored by authors Marcela Rocha, Master in Development and International Cooperation (ISEG – Universidade de Lisboa), and Professor Eduardo Moraes Sarmento, PhD in Economics with a specialization in Tourism, in CEsA Working Paper No. 121/2025, titled A Glance at International Challenges of Refugee Crises in the New Millennium.
This paper is innovative in bridging refugee studies and development studies to investigate the relationship between forced displacement, its root causes, and human development. Using a qualitative case study methodology, the authors examined refugee outflows from the main origin countries—namely Afghanistan, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Venezuela (according to UNHCR)—to understand the drivers of these movements and their impact on development.
Working Paper No. 121/2025 can be downloaded from the CEsA collection, available in the Universidade de Lisboa Repository: https://repositorio.ulisboa.pt/handle/10400.5/97910
Abstract:
This study investigates the intricate relationship between forced displacement and human development. By examining refugee outflows from key regions, this paper seeks to comprehend the factors driving these movements and their development implications. Employing a qualitative case study methodology, the research focuses on the five main refugee outflow countries in 2023. The paper finds that the most relevant factors that induce displacement are political violence, especially civil conflict, and climate change. Refugee emergencies have multiple aggravating elements, like economic crises, food insecurity, and infrastructure damage. Despite not identifying strong correlations between displacement and human development (measured through HDI), except for Syria, the study reveals that these emergencies are simultaneously humanitarian and developmental challenges. Repercussions are more prominent in the Global South since it is the origin and the destination of over 70% of displaced people. The findings reiterate the urgency for integrated policy responses that combine development and humanitarian efforts.
About the Authors
Marcela Rocha holds a Master’s degree in Development and International Cooperation (ISEG – University of Lisbon).
Eduardo Moraes Sarmento holds a PhD in Economics with a specialization in Tourism. He is the coordinator of the Master’s in Development and International Cooperation at ISEG (University of Lisbon), a researcher, president of CEsA, and a member of the Scientific Committee of ISEG Research.
Click here to explore the full collection of CEsA Working Papers.
Author: CEsA Communication Team (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
Image: Reproduction

Working Paper 201/2025: A Glance at International Challenges of Refugee Crises in the New Millenium
Abstract:
This study investigates the intricate relationship between forced displacement and human development. By examining refugee outflows from key regions, this paper seeks to comprehend the factors driving these movements and their development implications. Employing a qualitative case study methodology, the research focuses on the five main refugee outflow countries in 2023. The paper finds that the most relevant factors that induce displacement are political violence, especially civil conflict, and climate change. Refugee emergencies have multiple aggravating elements, like economic crises, food insecurity, and infrastructure damage. Despite not identifying strong correlations between displacement and human development (measured through HDI), except for Syria, the study reveals that these emergencies are simultaneously humanitarian and developmental challenges. Repercussions are more prominent in the Global South since it is the origin and the destination of over 70% of displaced people. The findings reiterate the urgency for integrated policy responses that combine development and humanitarian efforts.
Cite this Working Paper:
Rocha, Marcela e Eduardo Moraes Sarmento (2025). “A glance at international challenges of refugee crises in the new millenium”. CEsA/CGS – Documentos de trabalho nº 201/2025

Cinema and Decolonisation Cycle to screen award-winning documentary “48” by Portuguese filmmaker Susana de Sousa Dias on 8 February, free admission
The 2024/2025 season of the Cinema and Decolonisation Cycle has been running since November 2024, hosting cineclub-style sessions to explore the legacies and memories of decolonisation. The next session, scheduled for February 8, will feature a screening of the award-winning documentary 48 and the participation of the Portuguese director Susana de Sousa Dias. The film will be shown at 10:00 a.m. in Auditorium 2 at ISEG (Rua do Quelhas 6, Quelhas Building, 2nd Floor – Cloister), with free admission.
Following the film screening, a Q&A session will take place with the film director and special guests, such as filmmaker Camilo de Sousa, poet and journalist Luís Carlos Patraquim, and CEsA specialist in the history of the colonialism Joana Pereira Leite.
The documentary 48 is based on the archives of the The International and State Defense Police (PIDE) and presents photographs of political prisoners taken during the 48 years of the Portuguese dictatorship (1926–1974). The work unveils the mechanisms through which the authoritarian system sought to perpetuate itself.
Synopsis of the Documentary 48 (Susana de Sousa Dias, 2010, Portugal, 93 min)
What can a photograph of a face reveal about a political system? What can an image taken more than 35 years ago tell us about the present day? Drawing on a collection of mugshots of political prisoners from the Portuguese dictatorship (1926–1974), 48 seeks to reveal the mechanisms through which an authoritarian system attempted to perpetuate itself.
Credits
Script: Susana de Sousa Dias
Direction: Susana de Sousa Dias
Editing: Susana de Sousa Dias
Cinematography: Octávio Espírito Santo
Sound Design: António de Sousa Dias
Sound: Armanda Carvalho
Additional Sound: Paulo Cerveira and Valente Dimande
Post-Production Direction: Helena Alves
Sound Mixing: Tiago Matos
Colour Correction: Paulo Inês
Production: Kintop | Ansgar Schäfer with support from MC / ICA and RTP
International Sales: Kintop
Distribution in Portugal: Alambique
Awards
Cinéma du Réel – Grand Prix, França, 2010
Opus Bonum Award, Jihlava, 2010
Prémio FIPRESCI, Dok Leipzig, 2010
Prémio D.Quijote, 2010
Grande Prémio Cidade de Coimbra 2010, 2010
Menção do Júri, Punto de Vista, 2011
Grande Prémio Festival Independente Mar del Plata 2011, 2011
Prémio de Montagem, Cineport, 2011
Nomeação para o Prémio Autores 2012 da Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores, 2012
About the Cinema and Decolonisation Cycle
The sessions of the Cinema and Decolonisation Cycle will continue until June 2025, with screenings taking place in Auditorium 2 at ISEG. This initiative runs parallel to the exhibition Deconstructing Colonialism, Decolonising the Imagination, on display at the National Museum of Ethnology until 2 November.
Check out the programme below:
Decolonisation must be understood as an ongoing process, one that needs to be embraced and integrated into social, political, cultural, and personal dynamics. The project aims to create an open, dynamic space for sharing memories, narratives, dialogues, and reflections. It is coordinated by researcher Jessica Falconi (CEsA/ISEG/ULisboa) and curated by researcher and filmmaker Isabel Noronha (CEsA/ISEG/ULisboa) and filmmaker Camilo de Sousa.
Coordination: Jessica Falconi (CEsA/ISEG/ULisboa)
Curation: Isabel Noronha (CEsA/ISEG/ULisboa) and Camilo de Sousa
Scientific Consulting: Isabel Castro Henriques (CEsA/ISEG/ULisboa), Joana Pereira Leite (CEsA/ISEG/ULisboa), and Ana Mafalda Leite (CEsA/ISEG/ULisboa)
Collaboration: Luca Fazzini and João Moreira Silva
Support: CEsA/ISEG/ULisboa
Read more:
48 de Susana de Sousa Dias – Kintop website
Author: CEsA Communication Team (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
Image: Reproduction

Application period open for the Master’s in Development and International Cooperation and the PhD in Development Studies – 1st Phase, 2025/2026
The first phase for applications to the Master’s in Development and International Cooperation (MDCI) and the PhD Programme in Development Studies (PDED) – academic year 2025/2026 – is now open. Both programmes maintain a close connection with CEsA – Centre for African and Development Studies, either through the Centre’s representation on the Scientific and Pedagogical Committees of the MDCI and PDED or through its support and teaching of various curricular units, as well as the supervision of students’ dissertations and theses. This first phase is open up until 3 February 2025.
Read more:
MDCI – Master’s in Development and International Cooperation (ISEG website)
PhD in Development Studies (IGOT website)
Application period open for ISEG Master’s and PhD Degrees (ISEG website)
Author: CEsA Communication (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
Images: CEsA/Reproduction

Entre eu e Deus by Yara Costa: An Unprecedented Representation of the Island of Mozambique
Abstract:
This article aims to dissect the documentary Entre eu e Deus with the primary objective of demonstrating that the director sets out to challenge images, representations and crystallized perceptions of the Island of Mozambique, Mozambican cultural identity and Islamic fundamentalism, and that she succeeds in doing so. The article consists of two main sections. The first provides a brief historical context of the Island of Mozambique and examines some visual representations that predate the documentary under analysis. Here, I pay particular attention to Licínio Azevedo’s documentary on the Island of Mozambique as a relevant antecedent of Yara Costa’s work. The second part provides a detailed analysis of Entre eu e Deus, demonstrating the director’s unprecedented representation of the Island of Mozambique.
Cite this Paper:
Falconi, J. (2024). Entre eu e Deus by Yara Costa: An Unprecedented Representation of the Island of Mozambique. Portuguese Studies 40(2), 175-188. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/port.00014.

Claude Meillassoux em Moçambique: a propósito de uma carta a Marcelino dos Santos
Abstract:
Claude Meillassoux, the founder of French economic anthropology, and Marcelino dos Santos, an important leader of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), met in Paris in the 1950s, when they were both studying with the Africanist Georges Balandier. In 1977, the year of Meillassoux’s first visit to Mozambique, their relationship was renewed, this time under a critical and controversial tone. That year, Frelimo had transformed itself into a “Marxist-Leninist” vanguard party and was on the verge of creating a series of organizations in favor of the establishment of “people’s power” and socialism. Meillassoux would become a keen observer of this process. This article reconstructs the vicissitudes of his trip, promoted by the Franco-Mozambican cooperation and the Center for African Studies at Eduardo Mondlane University. Immediately after his visit, Meillassoux sent Marcelino dos Santos a highly critical letter concerning the course of the Mozambican revolution. The article also analyzes the content of this letter and its main anthropological and political implications.
Cite this Paper:
Macagno, L. (2024). Claude Meillassoux em Moçambique: a propósito de uma carta a Marcelino dos Santos. Estudos Ibero-Americanos, 50(1), e45089. https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-864X.2024.1.45089

African women’s trajectories and the Casa dos Estudantes do Império
Abstract:
This article compares the trajectories of different women who crossed the Casa dos Estudantes do Império (CEI), a formal institution created in Lisbon by students from the colonies with the support of the Portuguese dictatorial regime in 1944, that became a platform for anti–colonialism. Due to the role played by the CEI in the political and social paths of the leaders of African national liberation movements, historiography has privileged masculine accounts. In contrast, the roles and lives of women linked to the CEI remain unexplored or approached from a vision of “methodological nationalism”, with few exceptions. Addressing these trajectories from a transnational and “Afro–Iberian” lens and through the scrutiny of several sources allows us to reflect on a diversity of gender, race, class, and political ideology. The final aim is to illuminate some aspects of the Afro–Iberian mosaic from a gendered and postcolonial perspective.
Cite this Book Chapter:
Falconi, J. (2024). African women’s trajectories and the Casa dos Estudantes do Império In: Ethnicity and Gender in Portugal and Spain. volume 47, issue 7 (2024), pp. 1403-1419

Uma viagem sobre a investigação e a inovação no turismo
Abstract:
This chapter aims to succinctly outline the evolution and trends in the type of research that has been conducted, its connection to knowledge innovation issues, and, above all, whether this trend aligns with the major lines of action in the tourism sector at the international level. Fifty years after April 1974, tourism has established itself both globally and nationally as a resilient and impactful activity on multiple levels, as well as a strategic instrument for strengthening development between countries and peoples.
As a corollary of this dynamism, there has also been a growing recognition of the importance of its role in professional, polytechnic, and university education, as well as the role attributed to research in this field. Research serves as a means to contribute to a thorough understanding of tourism’s significance, informed decision-making, and, naturally, the preparation of a well-trained workforce capable of navigating a highly competitive global market.
Cite this Book Chapter:
Sarmento, E. (2024). Uma viagem sobre a investigação e a inovação no turismo. In António Abrantes, Turismo em 50 anos de democracia (Parte IX- Ensino, Formação e Investigação no Turismo. Cap. 49, pp.398-406). ISBN: 978-989-693-188-9. Lisboa: Pactor/LIDEL