Product Description

Over the past 15 years, ideas in the field of development studies have been highly contested. During this time, most countries from the South have come under the iron heel of the IMF and World Bank, who have imposed structural adjustment programmes wherever they have provided loan capital to governments. However, these programmes have had little success, and development studies has suffered accordingly. Many development theorists turned to postmodernist theory to try to move on from this impasse, which in the 1990s lead to a new line of critical thought that heralded "the end of development". They argued that development studies should be replaced by new strategies of emancipation, or "new social movements" theory, originating in groups such as the Zapatistas of Mexico. This work summarizes the contested ideas of development studies and new social movements theory while rejecting calls for the end of development. It uses postmodern theory to demonstrate that forms of development can be complementary to emancipatory social movement.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #939897 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
'For scholars and practitioners of development, this book is an excellent tour of contemporary theory. For theorists, it illuminates and encourages the making of hard decisions. Anyone who wants to help but is concerned about their own efforts should read this important book.' Ricardo Blaug, University of Leeds; 'Consistently thoughtful and quietly persuasive.' Tony Payne, University of Sheffield

About the Author
Trevor Parfitt is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics at American University in Cairo. He has held numerous consultancies in UN and NGO bodies.