Towards a new social justice agenda: understanding political responses to crises

Food riots across the developing world in 2008 sent powerful messages about the limits to people’s tolerance of acute economic insecurity. Yet political responses of this kind are mainly treated as the inevitable social convulsions after economic shocks – as natural, almost physiological responses to hunger. This briefing proposes that these political responses to crises can provide insights into popular perspectives on the global political issues of the day: global economic uncertainty, the moral limits to market freedom, and responsibilities of governments to protect against risk. Understanding such perspectives could inform emerging debates within development and help shape a new social justice agenda.

This In Focus Policy Briefing was written by Naomi Hossain of the institute of development Studies with inputs and advice from Kate Bishop, Robert Chambers, Kate Carroll, Rosalind Eyben, Richard Jolly, Claire Melamed and Rachel Sabates-Wheeler. The series editor is Carol Smithyes.