International Development and Global Politics: History, Theory and Practice

This textbook provides a historical survey of economic and political development theory and practice from 1945. Against the background of changes in global politics, it explores how the project of international development has been shaped in a series of wider contexts. Divided into two historical parts: the Sovereign Order, post 1945 to the early-1980s, and the Liberal post-Cold War Era from the 1980s to the present day, it examines: the evolution of ideas of international development: how the problem of development was conceived and is understood in relation to development economics and political development. It also addresses the impact of neo-liberal ‘counterrevolution’ in development theory, the rise of good governance, participation and ownership, as well as the impact of the ‘war on terror’ and the ‘securitisation of development’ institutions in international development: from the emergence of development agencies, their policies and the provision of different types of aid to changing aid flows and the growth of a more integrated ‘development community’ with implications for developing countries. Finally, it looks at the how the ‘war on terror’ and the ‘securitisation of development’ have shaped what these agencies do the practices of international development: these chapters examine a number of countries and their relations with development agencies; the kinds of projects and programmes these agencies supported; and the outcomes of these projects and programmes. This valuable and important teaching tool will be of interest to students of development, international relations, politics and economics.