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Biography I was awarded an MA (Honours) in Geography and Hispanic Studies from Glasgow University in 1991, a postgraduate Masters in Peace Studies in 1993 and a PhD in Peace Studies in 1998 from Bradford University. On completing my PhD I worked for a development agency called SCIAF (Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund) as Projects Officer for Latin America from 1997-2002. I then worked for a network of development agencies called CIDSE (International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity) as Senior Peace and Conflict Officer until 2005. Since then I have been an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Geographical and Earth Sciences at Glasgow University. Research interests My research interests fall into three main areas:
I am interested in what is called the resource curse, i.e. how countries endowed with plentiful natural resources do not tend to benefit from those resources. This interest began through work on the oil industry in Angola. In a country where 3 in 5 children die before the age of 5, in the late 1990s US$1 billion of oil revenues was disappearing every year through corruption and mismanagement. My work involved supporting local civil society groups to hold the Angolan government to account on oil revenue expenditure. More recently, I have been involved in background research for an NGO campaign drawing attention to the environmental and social impacts of gold mining. This work has focused mainly on Honduras and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In a post-September 11th environment, development policy and practice is becoming increasingly influenced by the global security agenda. Along with others who work in the field of overseas development, I am concerned that a paradigm shift is taking place through which development policy is increasingly being subordinated to security concerns, a military logic and short-term political and military strategies. Military forces are also assuming a much greater role in peacekeeping, humanitarian aid and development activities. This shift is concerning because it implies that global problems can be sorted out without addressing fundamental global injustices, power imbalances and practices such as the continuing arms trade which fuel conflict and contribute to insecurity.
The contribution that local-based organisations can make to peacebuilding, with particular emphasis on grassroots initiatives in Colombia.
Recent publications | View all publications >> McDonald, G Impacts of Extractive Industry Projects in Latin America: Analysis and Guidelines for Future Work, CIDSE, January 2009 McDonald, G Your guide to developing an HIV/AIDS advocacy strategy/proposal, July 2007 Lindsay, A and McDonald, G, Unearth Justice Counting the Cost of Gold, CAFOD, May 2006 McDonald, G (main author), CIDSE Study on Security and Development, A CIDSE Reflection Paper, CIDSE, January 2006. McDonald, G and Gary, I, Integrated Approaches to Peacebuilding in Africa’s Petro-States’, Trocaire Development Review, 2004 Teaching responsibilities I am a visiting lecturer in the Department of Politics at Glasgow University and teach a core course in the Masters course on Gender and Development entitled Engendering Rights and Development Practice. |
