Publications of the Geneva Graduate Institute in the Field of Development
NOTABLE COLLECTIONS OF THE IUED / IHEID
Annuaire Suisse de politique de développement / Schweizerisches Jahrbuch für Entwicklungspolitik
https://journals.openedition.org/aspd/55 (French-language archive, with nearly 700 original articles)
https://journals.openedition.org/sjep/ (German-language archive)
The scope of analysis and research of the Yearbook (1981 to 2008) lies at the intersection of global issues (environment, migration, security, etc.), North-South relations (development cooperation, global trade, international finance), and Swiss public policy. Switzerland’s cooperation policy and humanitarian aid (bilateral and multilateral) with countries in the South and East are at the heart of the topics covered by the Yearbook. However, this approach is significantly complemented by an analysis of national debates whose subject matter impacts North-South relations, such as legislation on asylum and migration, money laundering, corruption, and mutual legal assistance, not to mention laws related to environmental protection.
Two examples:
- Denise Efionayi-Mäder, Gérard Perroulaz et Catherine Schümperli Younossian (eds), Migration et développement: les enjeux d’une relation controversée, Annuaire suisse de politique de développement, 27-2 | 2008, DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/aspd.159
- Xavier Tschumi Canosa et Thania Paffenholz, Paix et sécurité : les défis lancés à la coopération internationale, Annuaire suisse de politique de développement, 25-2 | 2006, DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/aspd.242
International Development Policy | Revue internationale de politique de développement
https://journals.openedition.org/poldev (over 400 peer-reviewed articles available open access)
Published by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (2010–2024). Serving as a bridge between the research community, policymakers, and practitioners, this multilingual publication features original contributions from authors in the Global North and South. Development policies are examined not only from a discursive and strategic perspective but also through their implementation and evaluation.
Two examples:
- Julia Buxton, Mary Chinery-Hesse and Khalid Tinasti (eds.) (2020) Drug Policies and Development, Conflict and Coexistence, International Development Policy series No.12 (Geneva, Boston: Graduate Institute Publications, Brill-Nijhoff). DOI: 10.4000/poldev/340
- Carbonnier, G., F. Brugger, E. Bürgi Bonanomi, F. M. Dzanku and S. Insisienmay (eds) (2024) Missing Dollars. Illicit Financial Flows from Commodity Trade, International Development Policy | Revue internationale de politique de développement, 17 (Geneva, Boston: Graduate Institute Publications, Brill-Nijhoff), DOI: 10.4000/poldev.6067
Les Cahiers de l’IUED & Les Nouveaux Cahiers de l’IUED
https://books.openedition.org/iheid/1690 (archives containing 37 issues). Published by Presses Universitaires de France
The Cahiers (1975–1993) and the Nouveaux Cahiers (1994–2004) of the Graduate Institute of Development Studies (IUED, now IHEID) reflect the research and debates on development issues in which the Institute has participated alongside other academic institutions. These works offer a critical approach to development phenomena in the contemporary world; a perspective and analytical framework that seek to unmask and demystify discourses and opaque or falsely transparent responses; a pluralization of thought, highlighting power dynamics that, under the influence of history’s various twists and turns, have at times become unfamiliar to us.
Some examples:
- Bungener Pierre, Grinevald Jacques, Sabelli Fabrizio, Rallo Eduardo, Berthoud Gérald, La pluralité des mondes: Théories et pratiques du développement, Paris: Presses universitaires de France; Genève: Institut d’études du développement, 1975. https://books.openedition.org/iheid/3941
- Preiswerk Roy, Galtung Johan, Leca Jean, Lalive d’Épinay Christian, Perrot Dominique, Le savoir et le faire: Relations interculturelles et développement, Paris: Presses universitaires de France; Genève: Institut d’études du développement, 1975. https://books.openedition.org/iheid/3913
- Jacob Jean-Pierre, Sabelli Fabrizio, Crettaz Bernard, Partant François, Guillaume Marc, Rist Gilbert, November Andràs, Auroi Claude, Blardone Gilbert, Bugge Ronald, Meier Florian, Grinevald Jacques, Crise et chuchotements: Interrogations sur la pertinence d’un concept dominant, Paris: Presses universitaires de France; Genève: Institut d’études du développement, 1984. https://books.openedition.org/iheid/3357
- Gilbert Rist (dir), La mondialisation des anti-société: Espaces rêvés et lieux communs, Genève: Institut universitaire d’études du développement, 1997. https://books.openedition.org/iheid/2765
- Gilbert Rist (dir), Les mots du pouvoir: Sens et non-sens de la rhétorique internationales, Genève: Institut universitaire d’études du développement, 2002. https://books.openedition.org/iheid/2443
Collection « DéveloppementS »
https://www.karthala.com/5-nos-ouvrages-par-collection?q=Cat%C3%A9gories-D%C3%A9veloppementS
Co-published with Karthala (2006–2014) and launched in 2006, this series has helped bring the research findings of young scholars to a wider audience. It aims to shed light on the fundamental issues and current challenges of a multifaceted reality: “development.”
Two exemples :
- Beuret Jean-Eudes & Fino Daniel. 2009. Aide au développement et conflit armé au Burundi. Pourquoi rester, comment agir ? Karthala
- Muttenzer, Frank. 2010. Déforestation et droit coutumier à Madagascar. Les perceptions des acteurs de la gestion communautaire des forêts. Karthala.
Cahiers genre et développement
https://books.openedition.org/iheid/5191 (15 freely accessible books)
Co-published with L’Harmattan (2020–2023), it is a collection of books, each focusing on a specific issue. They comprise a compilation of reference materials and articles on the concept of gender and the analysis of development issues it enables. They aim to raise awareness of gender as an analytical tool and to integrate feminist theories, in all their diversity, with development theories. They are not a textbook but offer a selection of accessible documents in French within the field of gender and development studies.
Two examples:
- Verschuur, Christine (ed.). 2019. Savoirs féministes au Sud. Graduate Institute Publications, L’Harmattan. https://doi.org/10.4000/books.iheid.7378.
- Verschuur, Christine, et Reysoo, Fenneke (ed.). 2005. Genre, nouvelle division internationale du travail et migrations. Graduate Institute Publications, L’Harmattan, 2005, https://doi.org/10.4000/books.iheid.5689.
MAJOR WORKS PUBLISHED OUTSIDE THE IUED / IHEID SERIES
- Bungener, Pierre. 1978. Le Développement insensé: Itinéraires pour un combat, Lausanne: L’Âge d’Homme.
- Preiswerk, Roy. 1984. À contre-courant: L’enjeu des relations interculturelles. Lausanne: Éditions d’en bas
- Rist, Gilbert & Sabelli, Fabrizio (dir.). 1986. Il était une fois le développement…, Lausanne: Éditions d’en bas.
- Perrot, Marie-Dominique, Rist Gilbert, Sabelli Fabrizio (dir.).1992. La mythologie programmée: L’économie des croyances dans la société moderne, Paris: Presses universitaires de France.
- George, Susan & Sabelli, Fabrizio. 1994. Faith and Credit: The World Bank’s Secular Empire, Boulder: Penguin Books (traduit en 8 langues).
- Rist, Gilbert. 1996. Le développement: Histoire d’une croyance occidentale, Presses de Sciences Po (1st édition française); 2003. The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith, Expanded Edition, London: Zed Books (1st English ed.).
- Comeliau, Christian. 2000. Les Impasses de la modernité: Critique de la marchandisation du monde, Paris: Seuil.
- Etienne, Gilbert. 2003. Le développement à contre-courant, Presses de Sciences Po, 148 p.
- Grinevald, Jacques. 2007. La Biosphère de l’Anthropocène. Climat et pétrole, la double menace. Repères transdisciplinaires 1824-2007. Georg. Coll. « Stratégies énergétiques, Biosphère et Société ». 292 p.
- Schumperli, Catherine. 2007. La politique suisse de solidarité internationale. De la coopération au développement globale. EPFL Press.
- Monsutti, Alessandro. 2018. Homo itinerans: La planète des Afghans. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
- Forster, Jacques. 2023. Coopération Nord-Sud : la solidarité à l’épreuve. Livreo-Alphil. 2023. Coffret 3 tomes
Tome 1 L’émergence du tiers monde, 1919-1982, 2021, 160p.
Tome 2 Le monde en développement, 1982-2019, 2021, 152 p.
Tome 3 Le monde sous tension, 2023, 160 p.
Electronic reference
Galvin, Marc. “Publications of the Geneva Graduate Institute in the Field of Development.” Global Challenges, no. 19, May 2026. URL: https://globalchallenges.ch/issue/19/publications-of-the-geneva-graduate-institute-in-the-field-of-development.This issue of Global Challenges has been jointly produced by the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Research Office and the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Executive Education department, especially the Development Policies and Practices (DPP) team.
GRAPH | Sovereign Borrowing by Instrument Type
Source: Mark Manger et al., Africa’s Domestic Debt Boom: Evidence from the African Debt Database (CEPR Discussion Paper no. 20747, CEPR Press, 2025), p. 23, https://cepr.org/publications/dp20747.
BOX: The African Debt Database
Elaborated by an international team of researchers from the Geneva Graduate Institute — including Prof Ugo Panizza and Dr Ka Lok Wong — as well as from the Global Sovereign Advisory, the Kiel Institute, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and the Universities Aix Marseille and Toronto, the African Debt Database (ADD) is the first comprehensive database of African debt.
Building on a new, comprehensive dataset that traces both domestic and external debt instruments across Africa at a granular level, its main innovation is a “detailed mapping of Africa’s domestic debt markets, drawing on rich, new data extracted from government auction reports and bond prospectuses”.
Learn more about the project and read the report.
RO, Geneva Graduate Institute
BOX | Definition of Development Aid
Development
The term “development” as used in the concept of development aid is far from having a universally accepted definition. A consensual definition considers that the concept of development refers to the set of technical, social, territorial, demographic, and cultural transformations accompanying the growth of material production or the improvement of human living conditions. It reflects the structural and qualitative aspects of growth and can be associated with the idea of economic and social progress (ENS Lyon – Sylviane Tabarly, Serge Bourgeat, Catherine Bras). For Gilbert Rist, nevertheless, development is not an objective or universal process, but a collective belief, a “Western myth” that serves to legitimize the intervention of Northern countries in Southern societies. He defines it as a modern ideology, based on the idea of progress, which masks relations of domination and perpetuates forms of dependency.
Official development assistance (ODA) – or Aide public au développement (APD) in French – is government aid that promotes and specifically targets the economic development and welfare of developing countries. ODA has been the main source of financing for development aid since it was adopted by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) as the “gold standard” of foreign aid in 1969. The DAC sets eligibility criteria, statistical rules, and principles of cooperation (See Here).
Human Development
Human development grew out of global discussions on the links between economic growth and development during the second half of the 20th Century. By the early 1960s there were increasingly loud calls to “dethrone” GDP: economic growth had emerged as both a leading objective, and indicator, of national progress in many countries i, even though GDP was never intended to be used as a measure of wellbeing ii. In the 1970s and 80s development debate considered using alternative focuses to go beyond GDP, including putting greater emphasis on employment, followed by redistribution with growth, and then whether people had their basic needs met. These ideas helped pave the way for the human development approach, which is about expanding the richness of human life, rather than simply the richness of the economy in which human beings live. It is an approach that is focused on creating fair opportunities and choices for all people (UNDP, 2025). Watch: What is Human Development?
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” a quote from Gro Harlem Brundtland, Prime Minister of Norway (1987). In 1992, the Earth Summit in Rio, held under the auspices of the United Nations, formalized the concept of sustainable development and its three pillars (economic, ecological, and social): development that is economically efficient, socially equitable, and ecologically sustainable.
OMD
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals adopted in 2000 in New York (United States) as part of the United Nations Millennium Declaration by 193 member states of the UN and at least 23 international organizations, which agreed to achieve them by 2015. These goals address major humanitarian challenges: reducing extreme poverty and child mortality, combating several epidemics including AIDS, ensuring access to education, promoting gender equality, and advancing sustainable development. In 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were published, succeeding these goals (UN).
SDG
The term “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs) is commonly used to refer to the seventeen goals established by the member states of the United Nations and set forth in the 2030 Agenda. This agenda, adopted by the United Nations (UN) in September 2015 following two years of negotiations involving both governments and civil society, sets out 169 targets to be achieved by 2030, common to all participating countries and divided into 17 SDGs (UN).
Research Office – Geneva Graduate Institute
TABLE | Trends in Global Development Assistance Volumes (1960–2025)
| Year | Global ODA volume (in billions of USD, constant 2023 prices) | Historical Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | ~ 40 | Start of OECD statistics; rise of post-colonial bilateral programs |
| 1970 | ~ 60 | UN commitment to 0.7% of GNI; expansion of bilateral agencies. |
| 1980 | ~ 85 | Peak linked to the Cold War and concessional loans; prior to the debt crisis. |
| 1990 | ~ 105 | End of the Cold War; shift toward governance and structural reform |
| 2000 | ~ 95 | Relative decline; launch of the MDGs and start of debt relief initiatives. |
| 2005 | ~ 130 | Impact of debt cancellations (HIPC) and the Paris Declaration. |
| 2010 | ~ 150 | Stabilization following the financial crisis; rise in humanitarian aid. |
| 2015 | ~ 160 | Adoption of the SDGs; expansion of funded sectors. |
| 2020 | ~ 185 | Increase linked to global crises (climate, migration, pandemics). |
| 2023 | ~ 223 | Historical high; sharp increase in humanitarian aid and concessional loans. |
| 2024 | ~ 212 | Beginning of the cuts |
| 2025 | ~ 174 | With, 23.1% decrease over 2024, it is the largest annual contraction on record and a second consecutive year of decline. |
Data: OECD (International Development Statistics); Our World in Data (ODA, constant 2023 USD).
BOX | What Is Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD)?
The OECD defines PCSD as “an approach and policy tool that supports the integration of the economic, social, environmental, and governance dimensions of sustainable development across all stages of policymaking, facilitating integrated approaches”, including aid, trade, agriculture, finance, investment, taxation, and other relevant policy domains.
PODCAST | The End of Development? A View from Georgia, with Nana Tsertsvadze
Research Office, Geneva Graduate Institute.
PODCAST | The End of Development? A View from Mozambique, with Milton Saranga
Research Office, Geneva Graduate Institute.
PODCAST | La fin du développement? Une vue du Mali, avec Mamedi Thera
Research Office, Geneva Graduate Institute.
PODCAST | El fin del desarrollo? Perspectiva desde Honduras, con Claudia Calderon
Research Office, Geneva Graduate Institute.
VIDEO | Development Policies and Practices Programme | 20 Years Documentary
DPP, Geneva Graduate Institute.
VIDEO | «Coopération Nord-Sud: la solidarité à l’épreuve» | Présentation du livre de Jacques Forster
Research Office. Geneva Graduate Institute.
VIDEO | Rethinking Development: Toward Collective Stewardship of Our Shared Future, with Agi Veres, Director of the UNDP Office in Geneva, and Marie-Laure Salles
Research Office, Geneva Graduate Institute
PODCAST | L’aide au développement et la Fédération Genevoise de Coopération (FGC), avec Catherine Schümperli et Dominique Rossier
Research Office, Geneva Graduate Institute