Africa has about 60% of the world's uncultivated arable land, but by any measure of food security, it is the most insecure region globally. To manage the impact of potential global trade fragmentation on food security, the continent needs to build resilience by boosting domestic agriculture production.

In Iran, grievance and frustration has built up over time with the political regime, the notorious morality police, and the economic situation. But the recent provocation that sparked a wave of still ongoing protests in Iran was the news that a young woman had died in the custody of the morality police. In protest, women now burn their hijabs and cut their hair in protest. Women undoubtedly play the main role in the Iranian uprising, but how unique is this, and what does it mean?

Dams are still often seen as a source of 'clean energy', even though they have disastrous environmental and social consequences. Even the promise of climate-friendly energy production is not fulfilled, because in fact dams are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions - 'clean energy' turns out to be a driver of both climate change and social conflict. Nevertheless, mega-dams in particular have continued to advance globally in recent years. An interdisciplinary special issue of the journal Sustainable Development, now fully open access, is dedicated to dams as a social phenomenon. It vividly shows the profound social hopes and conflicts associated with large dams.