ISS Blog Bliss
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ISS Blog Bliss
@issblog.bsky.social
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Bliss is the official blog of the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam. Join the conversation!

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💡 The Politics of Food and Digital Technologies in Changing Global and Local Crises💡

In this blog, Yasmin Houamed argues that digitalisation is not a neutral innovation but a political process, fraught with risks and vulnerabilities.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-90n
Politics of Food and Technology Series | The Politics of Food and Digital Technologies in Changing Global and Local Crises - Bliss
Digitalisation is transforming how food and humanitarian assistance are delivered across the Global South and the Global North – from Sudan and India to the UK. While promoted as efficient and account...
issblog.nl
November 6, 2025 at 11:26 AM
NEW BLOG POST📢:From mayhem to momentum: How a week of protest changed Nepal forever

In this blog, ISS MA Student Sagar Karki looks into the rise and success of the 2025 ‘Gen Z’ protests in Nepal.

Read here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8XB

#AcademicChatter #GenZ #NepalProtests
From mayhem to momentum: How a week of protest changed Nepal forever - Bliss
In this blog, ISS MA Student and Nepali economic researcher Sagar Jung Karki looks into the rise and success of the 2025 ‘Gen Z’ protests in Nepal, that grew into a society-wide protest movement again...
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October 21, 2025 at 7:10 AM
We appreciate your readership. We are back next week with fresh research insights and meaningful conversations.

Join us here: issblog.nl
August 19, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Look who pulled us out of summer break early!

In June, Beatrice showed us the hidden layers of #Nairobi’s fire disasters. Now, her paper reveals how storytelling & theatre can change disaster governance.

Read here👇
Blog: tinyurl.com/rtnxunwk
Paper: tinyurl.com/46mwmnrn
Fueling the fire or preventing it? How fire ontologies shape (fire) disaster governance in Kenya’s ghettos - Bliss
You might gaze at this image and think, “If only the photographer had been a little more creative and had reached beyond the mesh, we would have gotten a clearer view of the fire.” Yet we, as the auth...
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August 12, 2025 at 10:22 AM
New blog post 📢A clash of peace(s)?

In this blog, Esther Beckley, PhD, calls for centering women’s knowledge to reimagine peacebuilding beyond exclusionary frameworks in Africa.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8G0
#Peacebuilding #AcademicChatter
A clash of peace(s)? Feminist-decolonial reckoning with extractive disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR) programmes in Africa - Bliss
Conventional Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) frameworks in Africa remain limited by masculinist and colonial legacies that marginalise the knowledge of African women’s and their l...
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June 17, 2025 at 7:32 AM
New Blog Post📢: Amsterdam’s Troubling Children’s Book

Amsterdam gave 60,000 kids Mijn Jarige Stad (“My Birthday City”) for its 750th birthday. Zhiqi Xu explores how unconscious bias seeps into children's literature, shaping their young minds.

Read the blog here: tinyurl.com/43sdurbw
#Amsterdam750
Amsterdam’s Troubling Children’s Book - Bliss
Amsterdam marked its 750th anniversary by distributing 60,000 copies of a commemorative book, Mijn Jarige Stad (“My Birthday City”), to children across the Dutch city. But what was intended as a celeb...
tinyurl.com
June 12, 2025 at 8:16 AM
New Blog Post 📢Humanitarian Observatories | Kalehe, DRC

In May 2023, floods killed 513+, left 5,000+ missing. In this blog, the authors from the DRC Humanitarian Observatory argue that reforestation could have reduced the impact.

Read the blog here: tinyurl.com/5bx5a9my
#DRC #Climatecrisis
Humanitarian Observatories Series | preventing crisis through reforestation: the case of Kalehe in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo - Bliss
Kalehe, a territory in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) located just to the north of Bukavu, has witnessed an unprecedented humanitarian crisis triggered by heavy rains in May 2023, resulting in...
tinyurl.com
June 10, 2025 at 11:29 AM
New Blog Post 📢Silencing Minds, Starving Bodies: Authoritarian Epistemicide in Ethiopia

In this blog, the authors examine the political developments in #Ethiopia in the last decade, and their effects on freedom of academic work.

Read the blog here: tinyurl.com/y7jszhr4
Silencing Minds, Starving Bodies: Authoritarian Epistemicide in Ethiopia   - Bliss
In this blog, Siyum Adugna Mamo and Ayehu Bacha Teso look at political developments within Ethiopia in the last decade, and their effects on freedom of academic work and thought as well as on material...
tinyurl.com
June 3, 2025 at 11:10 AM
📢Coming This June: Blogs that Reimagine Peace, Policy & Power

We are publishing a compelling series of blogs that interrogate dominant systems, from feminist critiques of peacebuilding in Africa to the politics of selective knowledge in migration and authoritarianism.
May 29, 2025 at 11:39 AM
💡 Polycrisis & Reasons for Hope at the Humanitarian Leadership Conference 💡

In her latest blog, Carla Vitantonio, captures insights from humanitarian practitioners in Doha. What challenges do they face? And where do they find hope?
Read the blog here : wp.me/p9fvbD-8zx
Polycrisis and reasons for hope at the Humanitarian Leadership Conference: a practitioners’ perspective - Bliss
In this blog, Carla Vitantonio (and host of the ‘Living Decoloniality’ podcast), takes stock of the views of humanitarian practitioners and researchers at the recent Humanitarian Leadership Conference...
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May 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM
💡Governing through expulsion: rise in U.S. deportations quiets the Darién Gap, shifting burdens south💡

María Palacio considers the effects of recently changed and more brutal deportation policies put into place by the USA.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8yI
Governing through expulsion: rise in U.S. deportations quiets the Darién Gap, shifting burdens south - Bliss
In this blog, Dr Maria Gabriela Palacio uses the example of The Darien Gap (a jungle crossing formerly utilised by forced migrants and refugees to travel North towards the USA) to consider the effects...
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May 15, 2025 at 7:36 AM
New Blog Post📢 A revolution for land and life in Colombia – and the world

In this blog, Prof. Jun Borras and Itayosara Herrera discuss Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s signing of the Pact for Land and Life Revolution for Life.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8y5
A revolution for land and life in Colombia – and the world - Bliss
Colombian President Gustavo Petro signs a Pact for Land and Life; Revolution for Life, committing to carry out land redistribution, restitution and recognition to enable rural working people to pursue...
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May 14, 2025 at 12:46 PM
New Blog Post📢 Home(s) in the In-Between: Trauma, Memory, Identity and Belonging in Home Game

In this blog, Drs. Jayasundara-Smits & Sahin reflect on identity, memory, displacement & belonging themes at the movie screening.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8wx
#AcademicSky #Conflict
Home(s) in the In-Between: Trauma, Memory, Identity and Belonging in Home Game by Lidija Zelović - Bliss
In this blog, Drs. Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits and Bilge Sahin reflect on Home Game, a documentary that unfolds not simply as a story of survival but as a profound meditation on the human condition—on ...
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May 8, 2025 at 12:30 PM
📢Humanitarian Observatories Series

How Domestic Fires Became a Humanitarian Crisis in Bukavu, DRC.
In 2024 alone:
🔥 59 fires
⚰️ 21 deaths
🏚️ 2,706 homes lost
📚 Schools & churches destroyed
Urban reform is urgent.

Read here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8vA
#DRC #PhD #AcademicChatter
Humanitarian Observatories series | how domestic fire has become a humanitarian crisis: case of Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo - Bliss
Domestic fires have heavily affected Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), causing deadly humanitarian crises with multiple effects. In 2024 alone, the DRC Humanitarian Observatory...
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May 1, 2025 at 9:28 AM
📢BLISS is evolving!

We are opening up the space for bold dialogue on every aspect of development, starting with a new Opinion Section for lived experiences, sharp insights, and fresh voices.

👉 Write us here bliss@iss.nl

#DevelopmentStudies #GlobalDev
May 1, 2025 at 8:07 AM
USAID suspension is a wake-up call to address fragility of Humanitarian Actions in Ethiopia

In the wake of the freeze, the authors argue that humanitarian actors and donors failed to strengthen local response capacity in Ethiopia.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8r9
Humanitarian Observatories Series | USAID suspension is a wake-up call to address fragility of Humanitarian Actions in Ethiopia - Bliss
On the first day in office of his second presidential term, Donald Trump signed an executive order freezing the USAID for 90 days, reportedly to assess the programme’s ‘effectiveness and alignment wit...
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April 3, 2025 at 12:18 PM
New Blog Post: Mobilizing against patriarchy & caste on Twitter

Our recent MA graduates Sri Lakshmi, and Emaediong Akpan, explore how digital platforms challenge and reinforce inequalities, revealing that technology is never neutral.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8pI
#IWD2025 #AcademicChatter
Mobilizing against patriarchy and caste on Twitter: How women in India use digital spaces to speak up against gender-based violence - Bliss
Digital spaces can amplify marginalized voices, but for many women, especially Dalit women in India, they often become sites of abuse. Navigating the intersection of gender, caste, and religion, Dalit...
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March 27, 2025 at 9:09 AM
New Blog Post📢: Bodies Designed for Profit

Our bodies are not just personal, they are sites of regulation, commodification, and profit. In this blog, Eno-Obong Etetim reflects on the dynamics of body politics activism in Nigeria.

Read the blog here: tinyurl.com/2969pd4k
Bodies Designed for Profit - Bliss
Gender inequality and the discrimination of sexual and gender minorities in Nigeria are often attributed to sociocultural norms and unfavourable state policies. However, reflecting on body politics re...
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March 18, 2025 at 2:53 PM
New Blog Post📢: Suggestions for Adaptation of UN and Other Refugee Treaties and Conventions

In this blog, Tom de Veer suggests key adjustments to improve EU asylum challenges, refugee protections, and global reception.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8nr

#Europe #asylum #AcademicChatter
Suggestions for Adaptation of UN and Other Refugee Treaties and Conventions that Can Make the World a Better Place for Refugees - Bliss
The UN Refugee Convention contributes to asylum and migration-related challenges in the EU, as well as the often inadequate reception of refugees globally. In this Opinion piece, Tom De Veer explains ...
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March 13, 2025 at 3:52 PM
New Blog Post🗣️: Connected for Gender Equality: Digital Learning and Solidarity Building

As gender Studies face challenges globally, hubs in #Pakistan, #Turkey, and #Netherlands are pioneering digital spaces for knowledge exchange and support.

Read here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8mi
#AcademicFreeedom
Connected for Gender Equality: Digital Learning and Solidarity Building - Bliss
Gender Studies worldwide confront the double whammy of the academic field's persistent urgency amidst heightened risk for its scholars and students. As a result, there is a pressing need for collabora...
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March 6, 2025 at 8:18 AM
New Blog Post 📢The USAID freeze and its dire consequences for women and girls: In conversation with Plan International

In this blog, we explore the recent USAID funding freeze and its devastating consequences for women and girls.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8lz
The USAID freeze and its dire consequences for women and girls: In conversation with Plan International - Bliss
The recent USAID funding freeze has left critical international development programmes in limbo, with devastating consequences for women and girls. The freeze is undoing decades of progress in gender-...
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March 4, 2025 at 12:29 PM
New Blog Post 📢 Building Peace Through Time: Reflections on Post-Civil War Nigeria

Over fifty years later, the Nigerian Civil War continues to influence contemporary discourse. We explore the peacebuilding process after the war.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8kh
#AcademicChatter
Building Peace Through Time: Reflections on Post-Civil War Nigeria - Bliss
Over fifty years later, the Nigerian Civil War, a pivotal conflict in the nation’s history, continues to influence contemporary discourse. The recent publication of A Journey in Service by former mili...
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February 26, 2025 at 7:05 AM
New Blog Post📢The importance of soft skills for achieving the SDGs

In this blog, the authors share their insights from a research project that bridges the skill gap by exploring and training students on critical soft skills overlooked in academic settings.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8hP
February 11, 2025 at 12:41 PM
New Blog Post📢 IHSA Annual Lecture Reflection: Counting the dead won’t save lives

In this blog, Munzoul Assal argues that we must look beyond the numbers and immediate outcomes of various atrocities in Sudan and concentrate on their origins.

Read the blog here: wp.me/p9fvbD-8ge
IHSA Annual Lecture Reflection: Counting the dead won’t save lives: looking beyond humanitarian disaster in Sudan - Bliss
In this blog, Munzoul Assal, Professor at the universities of Khartoum and Bergen, and Scholar at risk the Chr Michelsen Institute provides an in-depth discussion of the long-term crisis and instabili...
issblog.nl
February 4, 2025 at 1:47 PM
🌍 All Lives Matter, Crisis & Accountability in the DRC: Revisiting Our Insights

The resurgence of M23 rebels has intensified instability in The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

🔗 Read more from our past blogs: tinyurl.com/5n99j786
🔗https://tinyurl.com/39ckhj7h
🔗https://tinyurl.com/bkmp4573
February 3, 2025 at 11:17 AM