CESA
Algodão, uma fibra global
Abstract:
Cotton doesn’t lie. This well-known idiom in Portugal highlights how the most important natural fiber — both historically and commercially — has woven itself into our lives. Yet, while cotton doesn’t deceive, it does conceal. It’s more than just a fiber; it’s an entire global industry. It shapes production and consumption patterns, directly impacting the lives of millions worldwide. Cotton influences the fate of soils and water sources and significantly affects the environment. It encompasses agriculture, fashion, and high technology. Cotton has a complex and often troubling history: it can be sweet, but it’s also bitter. Its soft touch belies the complexity of its life cycle, which spans from cotton fields in Burkina Faso to garment factories in Bangladesh, fashion runways in Milan, and algorithms in New York. This distribution isn’t arbitrary: the value gap —evident in the income disparity between a field worker in Burkina Faso, a factory manager in Bangladesh, and a top designer in Milan — illustrates global inequalities. Cotton connects these diverse landscapes and activities. This briefing is for anyone who wants to understand the fashion they wear and the fibers they choose. It’s also for decision-makers regulating cotton production and consumption. Responsible consumption is a key step in altering economic structures, but it’s rarely enough on its own. Our aim is clear: meaningful action requires clarity, knowledge, and information.
Cite this ebook:
Bernardo, Luís Pais (2023). Algodão, uma fibra global. Lisboa: FEC | Fundação Fé e Cooperação.
Brochure “O CEsA no seu 40º aniversário: Memória”
Abstract:
The Centre for African and Development Studies (CEsA) of the Lisbon School of Economics and Management, University of Lisbon (ISEG-ULisboa), is a research centre with its own legal personality, founded in 1983 by ISEG faculty members. It currently has two major research lines: 1) Economics, Development, and International Cooperation, and 2) History, Cultures, and Identities. The main funding institution for CEsA is the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). Over the years, entities such as the Portugal-Africa Foundation, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Camões Institute, I.P., the Caixa Geral de Depósitos, ISEG, the European Union, the UNDP – United Nations Development Programme, among others, have supported various activities and projects. The geographical scope of this activity has mostly been Sub-Saharan Africa with historical ties to Portugal, while not neglecting Asia, particularly East Timor, and Brazil. The celebration of CEsA’s 40th anniversary and the 30th anniversary of the creation of the Master’s in Development and International Cooperation at ISEG offers us a unique opportunity to reflect on the trajectory and legacy in the field of research in Portugal.
Cite this Brochure:
CEsA (2024). “O CEsA no seu 40º Aniversário: Memória”. ISEG/CEsA – Centro de Estudos sobre África e Desenvolvimento.
WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT – CEsA Internal Funding for Small Projects – 2024
ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULT
CEsA Internal Funding for Small Projects – 2024
CEsA is pleased to announce the four research projects selected by the jury for the call for funding small research projects carried out by members of this centre.
Ten applications were received. The four research projects with the highest scores were:
- MULTIBIZ – Multiplexing Business Power: The EU and Global Infrastructure Competition
- The Emergence of Alternative Forms of Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Informal Economies as forms of Social and/or Solidarity Economy on the island of Santiago (Cape Verde) and in Cabo Delgado Province (Mozambique)
- Challenges of climate change in rural Africa: agricultural transition and farmers’ resilience on the island of Santo Antão – Cape Verde
- Our Lands are Disappearing: A Study of Gully Erosion Impacts in Southeast Nigeria and the Urgent Need for Immediate Sustainable Action
The applications were evaluated by an external jury, according to the criteria of scientific merit, feasibility of the proposals, potential to result in publications and/or applications to larger-scale external funding.
CEsA congratulates all the projects presented, hoping that this initiative can be fundamental to enhance the results of the research developed at this center, resulting in to publications and/or applications to larger-scale external funding.
CEsA researchers chair panels at the 12th Iberian Congress of African Studies
The 12th Iberian Congress of African Studies, scheduled to take place on January 29, 30, and 31, 2025, at the University of Barcelona, is currently accepting proposals for presentations — the deadline for applications has been extended until September 30, 2024. CEsA researchers Ana Luísa Silva, Doris Wieser, Elena Brugioni, Jessica Falconi, Odair Barros Varela, Redy Wilson Lima, Renata Vieira de Assis (Oficina Global) and Sílvia Amaral will chair panels in the following:
Panel 3 – “Traces of an African Anticolonial Archive in the Iberian Peninsula (1933-1975)”. Coordinated by: Jessica Falconi (CEsA) and Maria del Mar García (UAB – Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
Panel 4 – “The ‘Literary Environmentalism of the Poor’. Towards an Ecocritique of African Literatures”. Coordinated by: Elena Brugioni (CEsA).
Panel 13 – “African cities: decolonial approaches to contemporary urbanization processes and phenomena”. Coordinated by Sílvia Amaral (CEsA).
Panel 15 – “North-South University Development Cooperation: Towards more Equitable Academic Partnerships”. Coordinated by: Yonatan N. Gez (CEI-Iscte), Ana Luísa Silva (CEsA) and Renata Vieira de Assis (Oficina Global/CEsA).
Panel 19 – “As Continuidades Coloniais na Justiça, nos Estudos Criminológicos e no Direito em África: Olhares Cruzados”. Coordinated by: Odair Barros Varela (CEsA) and Redy Wilson Lima (CEsA).
Panel 30 – “Afro-descendant and Afro-migratory literatures in the Iberian Peninsula”. Coordinated by: Doris Wieser (CEsA) and Sara Bernechea Navarro (Université de Lausanne).
For further information on the call for papers, please visit the congress website: https://redestudiosafricanos.org/en/call-for-proposals-for-communications-at-ciea12-open-until-september-12-2024/
Author: CEsA Communication (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
Images: CEsA/Reproduction
CEsA Working Paper n. 200/2024 carries out a comparative analysis of key indices that classify countries’ vulnerability to climate change
CEsA has published the Working Paper no 200/2024, entitled “The Impact of Climate Change on Developing Economies: A comparative analysis of vulnerability indices”, in English, authored by Eduardo Cardoso, who holds a Master degree in International Economics and European Studies from the Lisbon School of Economics and Management (ISEG), Universidade de Lisboa. The main objective of this Working Paper is to analyse whether key indices in climate science consistently classify countries’ vulnerability to climate disruption.
The author reviews the literature on the impact of climate change in developing countries, followed by a comparative analysis of the EVI, ND-GAIN, INFORM, and WRI indices from 2014 to 2020. The findings indicate that the diversity in the components of vulnerability lead to divergent results. In conclusion, the author identifies the need for a holistic approach that results in vulnerability indices adapted to specific objectives and contexts.
Click here to access the Working Paper no 200/2024.
Abstract:
In order to make informed decisions on climate finance and policies, there is an increasing need to develop an index to assess countries’ vulnerability to climate change. However, differing concepts and methodologies have led to varied views on which countries are most vulnerable and deserve more international financial support. This Working Paper examines whether key indices in climate science consistently classify countries’ vulnerability to climate disruption. It begins by reviewing literature on the impact of climate change on developing countries, followed by a comparative analysis of the EVI, ND-GAIN, INFORM, and WRI indices from 2014 to 2020. The findings indicate that while these indices are valuable for understanding and monitoring vulnerability, their differing components lead to divergent results. This research underscores the importance of a holistic approach to vulnerability assessment and calls for informed selection of indices based on specific objectives and contexts.
About the author:
Eduardo Cardoso holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE) and a Master of Science in International Economics and European Studies from Lisbon School of Economics and Management (ISEG), Universidade de Lisboa.
Click here and get to know all the Working Paper Collection of CEsA
Author: CEsA Communications (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
Images: CEsA/Reproduction
Working Paper 200/2024: The Impact of Climate Change on Developing Economies: A comparative analysis of vulnerability indices
Abstract:
In order to make informed decisions on climate finance and policies, there is an increasing need to develop an index to assess countries’ vulnerability to climate change. However, differing concepts and methodologies have led to varied views on which countries are most vulnerable and deserve more international financial support. This Working Paper examines whether key indices in climate science consistently classify countries’ vulnerability to climate disruption. It begins by reviewing literature on the impact of climate change on developing countries, followed by a comparative analysis of the EVI, ND-GAIN, INFORM, and WRI indices from 2014 to 2020. The findings indicate that while these indices are valuable for understanding and monitoring vulnerability, their differing components lead to divergent results. This research underscores the importance of a holistic approach to vulnerability assessment and calls for informed selection of indices based on specific objectives and contexts.
Cite this Working Paper:
Cardoso, Eduardo (2024). “The Impact of Climate Change on Developing Economies: A comparative analysis of vulnerability indices”. CEsA/CSG – Documentos de Trabalho nº 200/2024.
Disputas de e por Espaços Político-identitários: O rap e os movimentos sociais em Cabo Verde
Abstract:
Independent since 1975 and democratic since 1991, Cabo Verde has not escaped the waves of urban protests that plagued African capitals in the second half of the 2000s. Rap, perceived as the new expression of protest by urban youth, consolidates itself in the 2000s as one of the main actors in the Cape Verdean political scene and becomes an important vehicle for mobilizing and building an urban culture of resistance, amplifying these issues. This article, based on an ethnographic research in the cities of Praia (Santiago Island) and Mindelo (São Vicente Island), seeks to answer three questions: 1) on how rap has shown the identity, social and urban contradictions; 2) how it has articulated with other types of social movements; 3) what is the place of women in rap and street politics?
Cite this paper:
Lima, R.W. and Robalo, A. 2024. 7 – Disputas de e por espaços político-identitários: o rap e os movimentos sociais em Cabo Verde. Africa Development. 48, 3 (May 2024). DOI: https://doi.org/10.57054/ad.v48i3.5321.
Did you miss a session? Watch the 2024 Development Studies Seminars’ presentations
The 2024 Development Studies Serminars’ sessions took place from February 29th to May 29th, 2024 at ISEG. Some presentations were authorised and recorded, and are now available on the CEsA YouTube channel, in the playlist “Seminários de Estudos de Desenvolvimento 2024” (access this link). Check them out:
“Capital Markets by Design? The rise of financial development planning in Southeast Asia”, Lena Rethel (University of Warwick), March 14, 2024. In English.
“Entre Comentário e Ativismo: A Perspetiva Ecocrítica na Literatura Africana”, Marta Banasiak (CEsA/CSG/ISEG/ULisboa), March 21, 2024. In Portuguese.
“Reimaginando a Superdiversidade Urbana: Questões metodológicas em foco”, Kamila Krakowska (Leiden University), April 18, 2024. In Portuguese.
“‘Life Writing’ e o Problema da Mediação na Historiografia Contemporânea Moçambicana”, Colin Darch (University of Cape Town), May 2, 2024. In Portuguese.
“Where do we go from here? Navigating Power Inequalities Between Development NGOs in the Aid System”, Nicola Banks (University of Manchester), May 16, 2024. In English.
Note: The recordings of the other sessions were not made available either because they did not have the permission of the speakers or because of technical constraints in capturing the videos.
Read more:
YouTube Playlist: “Seminários de Estudos de Desenvolvimento 2024”
Author: CEsA Communication (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
E-book In Progress 3
This third edition of In Progress, Seminar on Social Sciences and Development in Africa brings together works by researchers and postgraduate students whose study and research theme is contemporary Africa and its development, supported by scientific currents that stimulate new approaches beyond the “development”, exploring the notions of “well-being” or “good living” and remaining close to currents of thought and debates between Africa, Asia and Latin America. The texts include themes such as: fieldwork: practical, theoretical and methodological issues; politics, civil society dynamics, development; culture, thought and change; strategies for cooperation and development; and populations, mobility and well-being. The second part of this work contains the reflections of the speakers invited to the In Progress 3 seminar, which include both a critical perspective on the dominant discourses and methodologies in the field of development policies linked to mobilities, economy and identities, as well as the contribution of financial growth for economic growth and several of the issues to be taken into account in discussions on economic sustainability, taking the example of SADC member countries. The final conference refers to the times and questions that are important to retain and what is important to reflect on in the context of social and human sciences, in particular, when the debate is about the (neo)colonial perspective and contemporary global challenges for African Studies.
