CMI Briefs

The number of Muslim women participating in political decision-making in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) is on the rise. This brief explores how Islamists in Sudan have interpreted...

Improving access to humanitarian aid in conflict and complex emergencies has always been a major concern for policy makers and humanitarian actors. Historically, humanitarianism has been conducted in situations of...

The family law in Sudan, legalises child marriage, stipulates a wife’s obedience to her husband, and gives the male guardian veto power on women’s consent to marriage. #JusticeforNoura has shone...

This brief compares living conditions in villages in rural Malanje and shantytowns in urban Luanda and argues that while material poverty is most pronounced in Malanje, disempowerment, vulnerability and the...

On 6 September 2018, the Indian Supreme Court delivered a 493-pages-long verdict on LGBT rights and love. “Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India” is arguably one of the most...

South Sudanese women have been grossly under-represented in formal peace negotiations. However, they have been active in informal peacebuilding at the local level where peace means rebuilding society. Such informal...

Norway channels a large portion of its development aid budget through Norwegian civil society organisations. This also includes disbursements from Norad’s civil society grant for strengthening civil society where more...

Significant petroleum discoveries in Tanzania have shaped the country’s political discourse in recent years, with politicians promising to turn this newfound resource wealth into rapid economic growth and poverty reduction....

High-value natural resources can be a political “curse” when political elites use resource revenues to maintain power, subvert democratic rule, and distribute public goods to their supporters. New resource discoveries...

What do the educated future of Angola make of their future in Angola? A recent survey of university students in Angola documents a grave concern about inequality, and strong preferences...

Latin America is the only region in the world where adolescent pregnancies are not decreasing. According to a recent article in the Lancet, if the current trend continues, Latin American...

Legislating a minimum age of marriage at 18 has stirred counter-mobilization in some, but not all, countries where religious or traditional institutions enjoy constitutional authority. Why does counter-mobilization arise in...

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is still a common practice in Sudan. Nine out of ten women have been subjected to this practice. In 2009, a proposed ban on FGM in the...

The implementation of Tanzania’s local content policy for the petroleum and mineral sectors has been hampered by inconsistency, confusion, and un-coordinated donor interventions. There is a need to replace overlapping...

Despite increased evidence of international lobbying groups working to restrict sexual and reproductive health and rights policies at international bodies such as the United Nations, little is known about transnational...

Rural poverty in Angola is severe and gendered. This brief draws on qualitative field research in ten rural communities in the municipality of Kalandula, Malanje province. It shows that female...

A pobreza rural em Angola é grave e diferenciada por género. Este artigo resulta de uma pesquisa de campo qualitativa realizada em 10 comunidades rurais do município de Kalandula, província...

South Africa’s universities have witnessed unprecedented student revolts over the past two years. It began as protests against a rise in tuition fees and calls for removals of symbols of...

Land in Meghalaya, India, was traditionally agricultural land, owned by the community. With increasing privatization and rising commercial value of land for non-agricultural use, many owners have sold the land...