State Capacity in a Shifting International Development Landscape

In this CID Voices Road to GEM26 podcast episode, Harvard Kennedy School student Carissa Tridina speaks with Professor Chatib Basri, former Finance Minister of Indonesia and current visiting scholar at CID, about the structural shifts reshaping development and financing today. As global aid shrinks and countries’ debt burdens rise, governments face tighter fiscal space and more complex political trade-offs as they try to build sustained growth. During the episode, we explore how building state capacity in domestic financing, institutional credibility, and leadership is critical. The conversation also looks at Professor Basri’s experience with Indonesia’s political economy reforms, and whether the lessons learned can be applied to the present and across different contexts in an increasingly fragmented global economy. Whether you're interested in international development, financing, or state capacity, this episode offers timely insight into how the shifting landscape affects all development actors.