The Politics of Food and Digital Technologies in Changing Global and Local Crises
In this introductory blog, Yasmin Houamed argues that digitalisation is not a neutral innovation but a political process, fraught with risks and vulnerabilities.
Team goes to IHSA conference in Istanbul
The team organised a panel on ‘The politics of food and technology in changing global and local crises’ at the conference of the International Humanitarian Studies Association in Istanbul (15-17 October).
Presentation at IDS conference on Social and Humanitarian Assistance in Crisis
Tamer and Susanne presented a paper at the IDS conference (from 15-17 September 2025) on ‘The Politics of Digitalising Food Assistance in Sudan’s Crisis, and its Effect on the Food Security of Marginalised Populations’.
Team analysis workshop in Cairo from 2-7 July 2025
The international team met in Cairo (with Indian colleagues joining online) to discuss the preliminary analysis of our three country cases, start a comparative analysis, and plan our publications and dissemination strategy.
Digital Colonialism: How Tech Giants Control Food Aid
This article argues that the digitalisation of food assistance mimics aspects of colonialism, especially in terms of the asymmetries involved in the extraction of data (as a valuable resource) from vulnerable populations and the dominating role of US-based multinationals.
Digital food assistance in India: Towards a digital welfare state.
This working paper reports on phase I – the exploratory phase – of ESRC-funded research into the effects of digitalising food assistance in India.
Yasmin Houamed presents at the Future Food Symposium 2025
On May 21, 2025, Yasmin presented on findings from the Birmingham case study at the Future Food Symposium 2025, hosted by the University of Birmingham's Business School.
Digital food assistance in Sudan: Life-saver, risk, political tool in situations of war
This working paper reports on the exploratory phase of ESRC-funded research into the effects of digitalising food assistance in Sudan. The main question addressed is: to what extent have food assistance and social welfare practices been digitalised, and why?
Starvation crimes, network shutdowns, and obstacles to humanitarian action in Gaza and Sudan
In this blog, IHSA Vice-President and Senior Research Fellow at the Food Studies Centre at SOAS (University of London) Susanne Jaspars summarises and expands upon a contribution to the roundtable that followed the inaugural IHSA Annual Lecture on “War and Humanity” held in Bergen in May 2024.
Sudan’s catastrophe: the role of changing dynamics of food and power in the Gezira agricultural scheme
This article, originally published on 30 October 2024 by Disasters, explores the role of historical, political, and economic processes in understanding war and famine in Sudan after 2023.