Resilience has a long history but has emerged in the past decade to become a more widely adopted concept to underpin policies and projects, particularly in international development contexts. This working paper summarises some of the challenges and debates based on a review of recent academic literature. The paper highlights the multiple and sometimes conflicting ways in which resilience is interpreted. This same diversity that prompts critiques is seen as a strength by others, bringing together otherwise disparate groups, institutions, disciplines and scales.