Glossary

M-pesa

Mobile money service launched by Safaricom in Kenya in 2008, enabling low-cost transfer of digital value.

Philantrocapitalism

Performing philanthropy using business models to make a positive social impact, with key actors like Rockefeller and Gates.

Plantation

A machine for assembling land, labor, and capital under centralized management for profit, also a political technology.

Digital divide

Inequal access to and use of the internet, exacerbating socio-economic inequalities.

Colonial medicine

Intervention by colonial powers in health care, often detrimental to native practices and introducing new diseases.

Build Back Better

Concept for rebuilding infrastructures stronger to mitigate disaster impacts, exemplified by the Nepal 2015 earthquake recovery.

Climate reparations

Financial support from wealthy nations to developing countries disproportionately affected by climate change.

Good governance

Extent to which public institutions conduct affairs, manage resources, and uphold human rights.

Democratic reversal/backsliding

Global increase of autocratization, with 72% of the world living in autocracies.

Disaster Capitalism

Use of disasters to promote private interests, termed by Naomi Klein.

Female empowerment

Desire to empower women, often criticized for neglecting structural roots of marginalization.

Grameen Bank

Institution providing loans to women in Bangladesh without collateral, focusing on group accountability.

Gender and development

Critique of market-focused approaches to development, aiming to address structural inequalities.

Hard currency

Currencies that maintain value over time and are widely accepted for trade.

Hybrid governments

Struggle for power among various actors, indicating a weakened central government.

Infrastructure

Organizational mechanisms that facilitate daily activities and societal functioning.

Internet shutdowns

Limiting or shutting down internet access, often used as a form of government censorship.

Millennium Development Goals (MDG)

Set of 8 global goals aimed at addressing poverty and inequality from 2000 to 2015.

Military coups

Increased occurrences due to poor governance and lack of legitimacy, often destabilizing regions.

Monocropping

Farming practice of growing the same crop repeatedly, leading to soil depletion and environmental issues.

NGO

Non-profit organizations focusing on social, economic, and environmental issues independently from governments.

Politics of Pity

Disempowerment of refugees through media representation, leading to dehistoricisation and depoliticisation.

Reproductive justice

Call to address women’s rights to both have children and raise them in safe environments, inclusive of marginalized concerns.

Saviour complexes

Western feminist narratives portraying women in the Global South as victims while excluding their agency.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

Set of 17 goals aimed at ending poverty, inequality, and ensuring environmental protection.

Social contract/accountability

Implicit agreement between governments and citizens regarding rights and obligations for stability.

Uncivil society

Groups that challenge democratic values, often linked to violence; exemplified by actors like Al-Shabaab.

Violent Non-state actors (VNSAs)

Armed groups and individuals operating independently of governments, using violence to pursue goals.

Washington consensus

Policy prescriptions advocating free market principles and monetary discipline.

Témoignage

A core concept of MSF emphasizing advocacy and awareness in humanitarian aid, challenging neutrality.

Women in development

Neo-liberal approach focusing on individual women in poverty, criticized for overlooking structural disadvantages.