For over a decade, King’s College London has proudly hosted the annual Conflict, Security and Development conference, a flagship event for the War Studies Department. It brings together academics, practitioners, and activists from across the discipline to discuss the most pressing global issues at the heart of conflict, security, and development.

This year’s theme takes on the increasingly pressing and evolving challenge of aid provision in the international development community. The 12th Edition of the CSD Conference will explore the ways in which the nature of international aid has changed in recent years and how it has and will continue to impact conflict-affected regions. These issues will be explored in depth through four panels, where experts will examine:

• The End of Aid: Myth, Reality, or Transition? - Investigate the current debates around global development aid and its structural transformations in the international system. The panel will explore the geopolitics of developmental assistance, the decline in traditional aid, the emergence of new and non-traditional donors, and the reasons behind recent institutional shifts within USAID and the merging of DFID and how these changes signal recalibration in purpose and practice of aid.
  
  
• The Changing Landscape of Aid: From State-Led Assistance to Private & Local Ownership - Delve further into the conceptual framework of aid, specifically exploring how global aid provision is being redefined in form, purpose, and motivation. The discussion will examine political, economic, and ideological forces that challenge traditional ODA models and will consider the implications of declining aid.
  
  
• Life in the Vacuum: Post-aid Innovations & Adaptation Strategies - Consider the practical implications and smaller-scale impacts of shifting aid provision and priorities. Specifically, this panel will evaluate how these changes influence outcomes for vulnerable populations, ranging from broader socio-political backsliding in governance of developing states to specific adjustment behaviours of vulnerable populations or communities.
• Politics & Geopolitics: Aid & Conflict in a Changing World Order - Discuss the wider geopolitical consequences that may come from traditional Western donors scaling back their aid commitments. In particular, speakers will debate how new actors, including China, Russia, and the Gulf states, are stepping forward with alternative aid models that are reshaping global influence and exchange.

About our keynote speaker

We are excited to welcome Jillian Popkins, Chief Commissioner at the Independent Commission for Aid Impact as our keynote speaker. Jillian is an international development professional, with a career focusing on poverty and social justice. She has worked for the UK government, international organisations, and leading NGOs in the UK, Ethiopia and China, where she has held a range of executive, policy and programme management roles. 

Panellists

• Onno Rühl - Advisory Board Member (Airbus Foundation, EAES, Elefy)
• Dr. Paul Rogers - Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies, Bradford University
• Sam Rushworth - MP for Bishop Auckland
• Girish Menon - President, Lucy Cavendish College
• Susana Klien - CEO, SaferworldMuriel Bubbio - President, FPCD Monaco
• Motaz Amer - Human Rights Activist, Amnesty Court Coordinator for Yemen
• Becky Carter - Researcher, Institute of Development Studies
• Mareike Schomerus - Vice President, Busara Centre
• Mariana de Cunha - President, Association Against Femicide
• James Pattison - Professor, University of Manchester
• Dr. Jago Salmon - Principal Policy Fellow - Politics and Governance, ODI Global, and a member of the UN-IFI Partnership Facility Surge Advisory Team
• Jonathan Marley - Policy Analyst, OECD