A Culture of Support Matters: Inside Uppsala’s Development Research Group

Papers include draft research plans as well as articles about to be sent for publication.

The group covers diverse contexts, thematic areas and methodological approaches. For example, Lisa Svenhard from the department of Peace and Conflict Research presents an early idea for her PhD project on non-state armed groups in urban settings and seeks advice on selecting the location for her case study. Juan Diego Duque Salazar and Sandra Håkansson, from both departments respectively, present a paper co-authored with Hanne Fjelde on political candidate selection and armed group linkages in Colombia and ask for opinions on the scope of the article.

The development research group

The researchers from the Department of Government-side all form part of the development research group – a community within the department which unites researchers driven by a shared commitment to understand a world where global inequalities and related political challenges persist.

Emma Elfversson, Anders Sjögren and Johanna Söderström are members of this group. They note that the research environment focusing on development at the department hasn’t always been as cohesive. They recall a time when development research was a set of scattered individuals rather than a community.

Over the years, however, targeted recruitments for senior lectureships in development studies and the creation of a regular seminar series brought together a group of scholars with overlapping interests but diverse skills and focus areas. In addition to the development research group's regular workshops and joint lunches, the environment has also been enriched by the department now hosting the SweDev (Swedish Development Research Network) secretariat.

– We are a disparate set of scholars who come together around shared questions, not specific paradigms or themes, Anders notes and Emma adds:

– The complementarity of perspectives and methods often leads to productive collaborations among group members.

The result is a group with both intellectual breadth and methodological pluralism who share knowledge in a collegial setting that values constructive and respectful engagement with each other’s work.

Mobilisation rather than retreat

– In our seminar culture, we read each other's texts for real, Johanna says, and continues:

– It's not just a presentation followed by a few offhand comments. Instead, we take the texts seriously. And they are generous readings, proper readings.

In a field often marked by competitive funding landscapes, this culture of support matters. The loss of targeted funding streams for development research in Sweden has posed real challenges, leading many researchers across the country to shift focus or scale back international collaborations.

In the research group at the department, researchers have responded with mobilisation rather than retreat. The collegial network has helped them stay grounded, share strategies, and continue producing relevant, field-embedded work.

– We are facing some really concrete and major challenges. Then you can react to this in different ways, and I think here, we have still reacted quite a lot by mobilising and revitalising, not just giving up and dropping all the research we are doing. So, there is a resistance and a creativity, absolutely, Emma says.

When asked about the reason why, Emma says that it could be the value of a critical mass – a large and engaged research group at the department:

– You have these close contacts, networks, meeting places – and that makes it easier.

Johanna adds:

– But also, something this department is good at, in general, is talking about when things are hard and difficult. Like, ‘now it's not going well, I’ve had a bad review […]’ – that we are open about difficult subjects and share even when things are not going so well.

Good research is good research

This, they all agree, creates resilience to withstand challenges that development research is currently facing. Not least, Emma adds:

– And then, teaching also plays a role. It's also a motivator in a way. That there are still a lot of students who are interested in these topics. So, there is also a strong grounding in what we are doing and that it is relevant and important too. That this interests our students and that we get to teach – hopefully – our future leaders.

For prospective students and early career researchers considering a future in development research, the message from the group is clear: don't be discouraged by shifting external conditions.

– Good research is good research, Johanna states, and passion still matters. Students here gain a strong political science foundation while exploring some of the most pressing global questions of our time.

Karin Carlsson, September 2025