King's College London

Welcome to this month's roundup of news, events, and publications from DID.

Grants

ERC Synergy Grants fund AdaptAIR project

The 2025 ERC Synergy Grants are to fund AdaptAIR: Climate adaptation through Artificial Ice Reservoirs (AIRs) in the Himalayas, led by Dr George Adamson and Dr Nithya Natarajan.

Rapidly retreating glaciers threaten the majority-rural livelihoods of over 450 million people living across the Himalayas. In this context, Artifical Ice Reservoirs (AIRs) have proven a popular 'solution' and have receievd backing from aid agencies and global philanthropy. However, their rapid ascent speaks to problems of global climate adaptation more widely: there is scant research into how they fit into rapidly changing livelihoods, structures and physical geographies in the region, and whether they actually enable adaptation.

AdaptAIR brings together critical social sciences with regionally-attenuated physical geography to develop a critical, participatory and action-oriented way of doing climate adaptation in the Indian Himalayas and beyond.

Recent publications

November

Community picket lines and social movement unionism on the U.S. docks, 2014–2021: Organizing lessons from the Block the Boat campaign for Palestine Ziadah, R., 25 Nov 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Critical Sociology.

Real wages around the world: Insights from linear programming and accounting for climate differences Moatsos, M. & de Zwart, P., 25 Nov 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Economics and human biology. 59, 101544.

A feminist political ecology of where water “should” and “should not” be: Insights from northern Thailand and Amazonian Peru Langill, J., 20 Nov 2025, In: PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER. p. 1-12

Poverty-reduction interventions combined with psychological interventions: A systematic literature review Tanski, M., Wei, D., Singh, S., Pabon, M. A., Bahure, V. K., Jordans, M. J. D., Lund, C., Roy, S., Singh, R., Thapa, A., Tol, W. A. & Evans-Lacko, S., 19 Nov 2025, In: Scientific Reports. 15, 1, 38829.

In Search of a Plan B: Like-Minded Internationalism and the Future of Global Development Ishmael, L., Klingebiel, S. & Sumner, A., 19 Nov 2025, In: Global Policy. 16, 5, p. 1094-1102 9 p.

Introductory essay for special issue: future of work and welfare in India’s halting structural transition Kumar, S., Mishra, S. & Tillin, L., 17 Nov 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: WORLD DEVELOPMENT. 107220.

Development as (In)Justice: the case of Namibia Melber, H., Camfield, L. & Kothari, U., 13 Nov 2025, In: Progress in Development Studies. 20 p., 14649934251388766.

Step up, step down, step out: the gendering of community health work in pastoralist Kenya Dodworth, K. & Mukungu, B. N., 5 Nov 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Third World Quarterly.

Recent Events

Book Talk on “Disrupted Development in the Congo” with Ben Radley | King's College London
19 November 2025

Book Talk: Resisting Erasure; Capital, Imperialism, and Race in Palestine | King's College London
26 November 2025

Envisioning Feminist Futures: A Roundtable on The Diane Elson Reader | King's College London
3 December 2025

Upcoming Events

Book Discussion: Silicon Empires - The Fight for the Future of AI | King's College London
10 December 2025

Blogs & Media

Nyra: A New Approach to Climate Action | King's College London featuring Amanda Lenhardt
14 November 2025

The G7 and Global Development Architecture: Gradual Shift or Pivotal Moment? – Debating Development Research co-authored by Andy Sumner
18 November 2025

New study reveals positive impact of outward investment on home economies | King's College London featuring Jan Knoerich
21 November 2025

The labour codes are transformational, but they don’t favour workers | The Indian Express by Sheba Tejani
11 December 2025