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International Development Events

Join the global debate

The department is involved in hosting an extensive series of events, ranging from research seminars to public lectures.

Our department has hosted a number of high profile speakers including: Winnie Byanyima, Professor Amartya Sen, Dr Ha-Joon Chang, Kate Raworth, Mark Lowcock and Alcinda Honwana.

Upcoming events

What’s good sex? Reflections on body mapping with gay, bisexual, and queer men in Ghana

Wednesday 11 March 2026 4.30pm - 6pm. In-person, CBG.2.03, LSE Campus

In the seminar, Dr Joe Strong will showcase his recent work conducting body mapping exercises with gay, bisexual, and queer men in Ghana on their sex lives, health, and politics. He will discuss body mapping as method, share his experiences on the complexities of conducting these interviews, and present some of the maps produced and participant’s reflections on the process. The seminar engages with alternative modes of qualitative data collection around complex and personal topics and considers their application in social science research.

Speaker: Dr Joe Strong is a feminist, critical demographer at Queen Mary University of London.

Chair: Ernestina Coast is Professor of Health and International Development in the Department of International Development.

Hosted by the Department of International Development

Register here to attend.

Book Launch - Capitalist Value Chains: Labour Exploitation, Nature Destruction, Geopolitics

Wednesday 18 March 2026 3.45pm - 6.15pm. In-person, MAR.2.08, Marshall Building, LSE Campus

Is it true that Global Value Chains (GVCs) 'boost incomes, create better jobs, and reduce poverty', as commonly claimed? In this compelling book, Benjamin Selwyn and Christin Bernhold show how the mainstream notion of Global Value Chains (GVCs) obscures their capitalist character. To transcend this shortcoming, the authors introduce the concept of Capitalist Value Chains (CVCs). They explore how and why CVCs generate many highly exploitative jobs, new forms of poverty, are stunting real human development, and are destroying the world's environment.

Speaker: Benjamin Selwyn, professor of international relations and international development at the University of Sussex.

Chair: James Putzel is Professor of Development Studies in the Department of International Development at LSE.

Hosted by the Department of International Development

Book Launch - Reimagining Development: Bold Directions Towards a Thriving World

Tuesday 31 March 2026 5pm - 7pm. In-person, CBG.1.07, Centre Building, LSE Campus

Imagining a better future is at the heart of development. But mainstream development models are driven by a very narrow, Western-centric set of ideas about what it means to be human. What could be possible if we let ourselves imagine differently? As our world continues to evolve at breakneck speed and faces unprecedented crises—from the decaying environment to cascading inequality—the need for bold new directions for development has never been greater. Peter Sutoris and Uma Pradhan put a spotlight on the thought-provoking visions of leading theorists, activists and practitioners for rethinking development as a political project towards more equitable futures. Questioning top-down economic frameworks, they explore transformative ideas—from degrowth to indigenous knowledge—that may enable us to address the complexities of our rapidly changing global landscape. They consider how the world can chart a path towards reconciling the moral case for eradicating poverty with these critical perspectives to advance a more ethical approach, one that is sensitive to history, diversity, and the challenges and opportunities of this moment. If development is to remain relevant today, it must reinvent itself—and finally listen to voices on the ground.

Speakers:

Peter Sutoris is an Associate Professor in Climate and Development at the University of Leeds.

Uma Pradhan is an Associate Professor at IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society, and Deputy Programme Leader for BA Education, Culture, and Society.

Discussant: Tine Hanrieder is an Associate Professor at LSE's Department of International Development.

Chair: David Lewis | Professor of Anthropology and Development | LSE Department of International Development

Hosted by the Department of International Development

Register here to attend.

Cutting Edge Lecture Series WT - Alternate Fridays 4pm-6pm, Old Theatre

Lives Counted: Measuring Mortality Through Revolution, Epidemic and War in Sudan
Date: Friday 23 January 2026 
Speaker: Maysoon Dahab, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Discussants: Rosanna Le Voir, PhD candidate in Demography, LSE

Erased: A History of International Thought Without Men 
Date: Friday 06 February 2026 
Speaker: Patricia Owens, University of Oxford
Discussant: Aoife McCullough, PhD candidate at LSE and Associate Researcher at ODI

The Parent Trap: School Choice and Majoritarian Politics in India 
Date: Friday 20 February 2026 
Speaker: Ritika Arora, PhD candidate, LSE
Discussants: TBC

The expansion of Global Security Agendas in Times of Crisis
Date: Friday 06 March 2026 
Speaker: Ruben Andersson, University of Oxford
Discussant: Myfanwy James, Assistant Professor in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies, LSE

Trade Development Environment: The More Things Change, the More they Stay the Same
Date: Friday 20 March 2026 
Speaker: Silke Trommer, University of Manchester
Discussant: Kathy Hochstetler, Professor of International Development at LSE

Key past events

Balancing economic reform and stability: Paraguayan lessons for policymakers

Tuesday 17 February 2026 6.30pm - 8pm. In-person public event (LSE campus, venue tbc to ticketholders)

Join us as we welcome Carlos Gustavo Fernández Valdovinos, Paraguay’s Minister of Economy and Finance, for a lecture on the country’s economic transformation from crisis management to achieving investment grade.

Valdovinos will share lessons on balancing stability with reform, fostering inclusion, and building resilient institutions.

Speaker: Carlos Gustavo Fernández Valdovinos is Paraguay’s Minister of Economy and Finance and former Central Bank Governor of the country. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago and has served as a Senior Economist at the IMF and Country Economist at the World Bank. His leadership has been recognised with numerous awards, including “Finance Minister of the Year – Americas” (The Banker, 2025). He has been selected to chair the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings in 2026.

Chair: Jean-Paul Faguet is Professor of Political Economy of Development at LSE and Chair of the Decentralization Task Force at Columbia University’s Initiative for Policy Dialogue. His research bridges economics and political science, using mixed methods to study institutions and organisational forms that drive development. He has published widely, including Governance from Below: Decentralization and Popular Democracy in Bolivia, winner of the W.J.M. Mackenzie Prize for best political science book of 2012.

Professor Larry Kramer, the President and Vice Chancellor of LSE, will give welcoming remarks at the event.

Celebrating 35 years of LSE ID: Alumni Reflections and the Future of International Development

Tuesday 9 Dec 2025 6.30pm - 8pm, In-person and online public event (LSE campus, venue tbc ticketholders)

Marking 35 years of International Development at LSE, this special alumni panel brings together graduates who are shaping change across sectors and continents.

Speakers: 
Noble Kofi Nazzah, Founding Editor, The Gourd Magazine (MSc African Development, 2019)
Indranil Chakrabarti, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (MSc Development Studies, 1997)
Mia Fraser, Philanthropy Executive at Amnesty International UK (MSc Health and International Development, 2022)
Lisa Al Banyahyatiis, Assistant Vice President, Structuring & Origination, KfW IPEX-Bank (MSc Development Management, 2019)
Arbie Baguios, ESRC-funded PhD International Development researcher studying refugee economies (MSc International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies, 2018)
Chair: James Putzel is Professor of Development Studies in the Department of International Development at LSE

Hosted by the Department of International Development

You can download the entire list of past events from 2012 - 2014 here.