Political Economies of Development

Political Economies of Development

	Ideas about the prerequisites, processes and indicia of economic
development have undergone radical change since the end of World War II.
Peace brought an enormous and unfounded optimism: not only was political
and economic development desirable and possible, the two were thought to
be mutually re-enforcing.  The theory and practice of “development” has
changed radically since then.   Indeed, scholars no longer agree (or
perhaps even lack an interest in defining) what "development" is, who it
is for and whether it is desirable.  Today, instead of “development” we
have “emerging markets” – a catch phrase that embodies a deep
transformation of the state, the economy and the relationship between
human beings and market forces.  Instead of genuine participation we live
in an era where “democracy” has become an empty slogan that disempowers
people from affecting real decisions that shape their daily live. Why did
this happen?  What does it mean?  How did we get to where we are today?

	This lecture course exposes students to some of the main debates in the
field of economic and political development and underdevelopment.  The
intellectual history of "development" as a field is explored through the
origins and transformation of three key institutional fields: the state,
the national market, and the international economy.  Going through a
series of system-transforming events—the rise of the Asian NICs; the Debt
Crises of the 1980s; the Financial Crises of the 1990s--we will conclude
by considering the ways in which the international economy itself has
changed over time and try to understand the social, psychological and
political consequences of contemporary forms of post-fordist production.