As globalization gives way to fragmentation, the politics of finance and development are shifting fast. Tariffs, trade wars, and geopolitical rivalries are redrawing economic maps, while traditional sources of aid are shrinking. In this environment, low- and middle-income countries are searching for new partners and new pathways to growth—and China’s role looms large.

Over the past two decades, China has financed and built roads, railways, power grids, and digital infrastructure across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. But since the pandemic, its overseas investments have evolved: fewer mega-projects, greater attention to debt risks, and a growing emphasis on clean energy, technology, and localized, value-added production.

In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with Hong Bo, Professor of Financial Economics at SOAS, University of London, about the changing nature of Chinese investment and what it reveals about the future of global development finance. They discuss how sovereign risk shapes investment decisions, why small and “green” projects are replacing large ones, and how African and other developing countries can strengthen their bargaining power in negotiations. The conversation also touches on the politics of transparency, the role of private Chinese investors, and the possibilities for industrialization in a world of shrinking aid and shifting alliances.

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Dan Banik 

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In this episode of In Pursuit of Development, Dan Banik sits down with Rachel Glennerster, President of the Center for Global Development (CGD), to discuss how the global development landscape is being reshaped by shifting politics, tighter budgets, and new sources of innovation and influence. From Washington to New Delhi, the narrative of development is evolving—no longer centered solely on aid, but on how countries and coalitions define and deliver progress on their own terms.

Rachel shares insights from her time in government, academia, and policy research, reflecting on how development agencies can make tough choices, simplify their missions, and stay focused on impact when resources are scarce. She and Dan delve into the future of the World Bank, IMF, and USAID, the need for smarter prioritization among donors, and the vital importance of protecting evidence-based interventions that save lives and expand opportunity.

The conversation also moves beyond institutions to the tools and partnerships shaping tomorrow’s development practice—from artificial intelligence and climate innovation to South–South Cooperation, where countries like India, China and Kenya are sharing solutions across continents. 

Rachel Glennerster on X and Linkedin

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Dan Banik 

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X: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod

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Malawi has once again gone to the polls, reaffirming its reputation as one of Africa’s most enduring democracies. In September 2025, former president Peter Mutharika returned to power after defeating Lazarus Chakwera in a peaceful transfer of power that defied global trends of democratic decline. Despite widespread poverty, inflation, and economic stagnation, Malawians continue to place their trust in the ballot box. 

In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with Happy Kayuni about why democracy endures in Malawi, how civic faith survives amid hardship, and what this resilience reveals about the future of democracy in developing countries.

Resources:

• Political Transition and Inclusive Development in Malawi: The Democratic Dividend (Open access, Edited by Dan Banik and Blessings Chinsinga)
• Happy Kayuni on X and LinkedIn

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Dan Banik 

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X: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod

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One year after a deadly train-station collapse in Novi Sad that killed sixteen people, Serbia’s student-led protests have become a powerful challenge to corruption, impunity, and democratic decay.

In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with Nemanja Džuverović, Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Belgrade, about how grief turned into the country’s largest civic movement in decades. Together they explore what the protests reveal about Serbia’s political system, the rise of “stabilocracy,” and the fragile state of democracy across the Balkans.

Dan and Nemanja — colleagues in the Circle U European University Alliance’s Democracy Hub — also discuss shifting global alliances, China’s growing presence, and why young Serbians are losing faith in the European project.

A story of resilience and renewal, this conversation offers rare insight into how civic courage can revive democracy from the ground up.

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Dan Banik 

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X: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod

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In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with Jorge Heine, a seasoned diplomat, former Minister of State, and Chile’s ambassador to China, India, and South Africa — three pivotal countries at the center of today’s shifting world order. Drawing on his extensive diplomatic experience, Heine discusses the growing influence of the Global South and the resurgence of active non-alignment as nations navigate an era defined by U.S.–China rivalry. Together they explore how countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America are redefining their foreign policies—resisting pressure to choose sides while advancing their own development agendas. Heine, who is also the co-author (with Carlos Fortin and Carlos Ominami) of the timely new book The Non-Aligned World: Striking Out in an Era of Great Power Competition, argues that this movement signals a more confident and connected Global South, reshaping global governance, development finance, and the balance of power in the twenty-first century.

Resources:

• The Non-Aligned World: Striking Out in an Era of Great Power Competition (Polity, 2025)
• Jorge Heine, Global Development Policy Center, Boston University
• Jorge Heine on X and LInkedIn

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Dan Banik 

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X: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod

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In this episode of In Pursuit of Development, Dan Banik speaks with Pedro Conceição, Director of the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report Office, about the enduring power and renewed urgency of the human development idea.

The conversation begins with the origins of the Human Development Reports, tracing how Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen transformed a moral vision into a measurable framework that challenged conventional notions of progress. Pedro reflects on how this approach—anchored in expanding people’s choices and capabilities—remains vital in today’s polarized and uncertain world, where attention is often captured by crises rather than long-term human flourishing. Dan and Pedro discuss the latest Human Development Report, A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI, which examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping economies, societies, and the very notion of human agency. They explore both the promise and the peril of AI — how it can enhance learning, health, and livelihoods, but also deepen inequalities if access, bias, and control are left unchecked. The episode also touches on widening global inequalities, energy poverty in Africa, and the foundational investments (in electricity, connectivity, and education) required to ensure that AI serves as a tool for empowerment rather than exclusion.

Resources:

• UNDP Human Development Reports
• Pedro Conceição on LinkedIn and X

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Dan Banik 

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X: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod

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As global politics shifts and economic pressures mount, understanding what citizens actually think — not what outsiders assume they think — has never been more important. In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with Joseph Asunka, CEO of Afrobarometer, the pan-African, non-partisan research network that has become the world’s leading source of high-quality data on what Africans are thinking about democracy, governance, the economy, and society. The conversation explores the paradox of political engagement in a digital age — where young people are more likely to mobilize on social media or take to the streets than to join parties or vote. Dan and Joseph discuss the widening generational gap between citizens and leaders, the persistence of “big man” politics, and the crucial role of credible data in strengthening accountability and democratic resilience.

Resources:

• African insights 2025: Citizen engagement, citizen power: Africans claim the promise of democracy
• Afrobarometer website
• Joseph Asunka on LinkedIn and X
   

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Dan Banik 

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X: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod

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Bangladesh is often described as one of the great development success stories of recent decades. Poverty has fallen sharply, life expectancy has risen, and millions of women have entered the workforce. Today, however, that narrative sits uneasily beside new questions about data reliability, the cost-of-living crisis, and deepening inequality. What explains this paradox and what does Bangladesh’s experience reveal about how societies learn from crisis?

In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with Naomi Hossain, Global Research Professor in the Department of Development Studies at SOAS University of London. A political sociologist, Naomi’s work examines how people living with poverty and precarity secure the public services they need, and how states can be held to account. The conversation revisits the Bangladesh’s turbulent early years: the 1970 Bhola cyclone, the liberation war, and the devastating 1974 famine that killed over one and a half million people. Out of those traumas emerged a political and moral consensus that food security and disaster preparedness had to come first. From there, Bangladesh built a foundation for growth through innovation in health, education, and social protection, and through a society that proved remarkably adaptive and resilient.

Resources:

• Theorising the politics of famine: Bangladesh in 1974
• The Aid Lab: Understanding Bangladesh’s Unexpected Success (OUP 2017)
• Reflections on Bangladesh at 50
• Naomi Hossain on LinkedIn and X

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Dan Banik 

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X: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod

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The United Nations is facing its worst financial crisis in decades. Compared to its 2023 peak, total UN spending has fallen by almost one-third.
While some countries have withheld much of their funding, others are paying late. And still others have reduced or postponed contributions. Against this backdrop, Secretary-General António Guterres has launched the UN80 reform initiative, an effort to streamline operations and review mandates at a time when the organization is struggling to keep the lights on.

In this conversation, Dan Banik speaks with Dr. Ronny Patz, an independent UN financing analyst and author of Managing Money and Discord in the UN, about what lies behind the current liquidity crunch and why reforming the UN is so politically fraught. They explore how money, mandates, and majorities rarely align; why a considerable amount of UN funding now comes through earmarked projects; and how donor mistrust, fragmentation, and “cutback management” are reshaping the very foundations of global governance.

The discussion moves beyond budgets to ask a larger question: Can the United Nations still fulfill its universal mission in a post-aid world?

Listeners will come away with a sharper understanding of how bureaucratic politics, donor behaviour, and global power shifts are redefining the future of multilateralism.

Resources:

• The UN80 Initiative
• UN faces deepening financial crisis, urges members to pay up
• Managing Money and Discord in the UN: Budgeting and Bureaucracy (OUP 2019)
• Ronny Patz on LinkedIn
• Visit ronny-patz.de

Host:

Dan Banik 

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X: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod

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In the first episode of In Pursuit of Development Season 6, host Dan Banik returns after an unexpected year-and-a-half hiatus following a serious health emergency. Dan examines how the world has entered a period of profound flux. The once-stable liberal international order is giving way to a more fragmented and contested multipolar reality. He explores how trade wars, weakening multilateral institutions, debt crises, environmental stress, and disruptive technologies are reshaping global politics and development. However, amidst this turbulence, he identifies a powerful countercurrent — the growing visibility and influence of the Global South. Dan unpacks how countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America are asserting new forms of leadership and cooperation — through the G20, BRICS, and South–South partnerships — and how this shift is transforming debates on trade, climate justice, technology, and governance. The episode also reflects on the challenges within the Global South itself, including internal inequalities, differing national interests, and the risk of reproducing old hierarchies in new ways.

Despite the uncertainty of this “interregnum” moment, Dan closes with a message of cautious optimism — a politics of hope grounded in evidence. He highlights global progress in health, education, poverty reduction, and renewable energy, emphasizing that crises often generate creativity and collaboration. The episode sets the stage for a new season of conversations with scholars, activists, and policymakers who will explore how the Global South’s choices — and the world’s response — will shape the future of global development.

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Dan Banik 

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X: @danbanik @GlobalDevPod

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