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Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Interdisciplinary studies > Development studies
Security and development matter: they often involve issues of life and death and they determine the allocation of truly staggering amounts of the world's resources. Particularly since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, there has been momentum in policy circles to merge the issues of security and development to attempt to end conflicts, create durable peace, strengthen failing states, and promote the conditions necessary for people to lead healthier and more prosperous lives. In many ways this blending of security and development agendas seems admirable and designed to produce positive outcomes all around. However, it is often the case that the two concepts in combination do not receive equal weight, with security issues getting priority over development concerns. This is not desirable and actually undermines security in the longer term. Moreover, there are major challenges in practice when security practitioners and development practitioners are asked to agree on priorities and work together. "Security and Development in Global Politics" illuminates the common points of interest but also the significant differences between security and development agendas and approaches to problem solving. With insightful chapter pairings - each written by a development expert and a security analyst - the book explores seven core international issues: aid, humanitarian assistance, governance, health, poverty, trade and resources, and demography. Using this comparative structure, the book effectively assesses the extent to which there really is a nexus between security and development and, most importantly, whether the link should be encouraged or resisted.
This volume describes American and European reactions to the Japanese supremacy in core technologies, focussing on the emerging idea of economic national security and an active role of the state in mediating enabling technologies. The "Strategic Defense Initiative" (SDI), the U.S. semiconductor program SEMATECH, and the European R & D initiative EUREKA serve as case studies on how states try to promote knowledge-based technologies in strategically relevant areas. A theoretical chapter analyzes changes in stateness and an emerging new type of political economy within the context of globally-oriented international competition.
Transdisciplinarity is a new way of scientifically meeting the challenges of sustainability. Indeed, interdisciplinary collaboration and co-operation with non-academic 'practice partners' is at the core of this; creating contextualised, socially relevant knowledge about complex real-world problems. Transdisciplinary Research and Sustainability breaks new ground by presenting transdisciplinary research in practice, drawing on recent advances by the vibrant transdisciplinary research communities in the German-speaking world. It describes methodological innovations developed to address wide-ranging contemporary issues including climate change adaptation, energy policy, sustainable agriculture and soil conservation. Furthermore, the authors reflect on the challenges involved in integrating non-academic actors in scientific research, on the tensions that arise in the encounter of theory and praxis, and on the inherently normative, political nature of sustainability research. Highlighting the need for academic institutions to be transformed to reflect transdisciplinarity, this timely volume will appeal to postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers interested in fields such as Sustainability Science, Transdisciplinary Studies and Philosophy of Science.
The Kalahandi district in the state of Odisha in Eastern India is regarded as an iconic region of underdevelopment, and is often perceived to be the 'Somalia' of the country. It is also the site of a large number of governmental interventions. This book focuses on processes of governance in Odisha, and provides an ethnographic account of the changing forms of governmental actions in Kalahandi by analysing the implementation of WORLP (Western Orissa Rural Livelihoods Project), a new generation watershed development project. The book also shows the morphings of the forms of the state on the ground, and the ways in which it is perceived by the agents and objects of statist actions. Arguing that changes in the institutions and practices of the state in India over the last three decades are better understood through the conceptualisation of state-fabrication, rather than of state-formation, the author describes the governmental tactics related to emergent modes of governmental action. The book identifies an increasing convergence in the everyday practices of governmental and non-governmental organisations, and the growth of 'the social' as a terrain and object of governmental actions, as two important effects of the process of deployment of these tactics. It argues that the vernacular sphere of toutary is a key domain of sociality that frames the perceptions and actions of people related to the state in Odisha. As a domain, toutary is populated by social agents, called touters; toutary can be understood as the interstitial zone between state and society shaped by the increasing penetration by the state into society through social technologies. By providing an alternative analysis of state and politics in India, this book adds to the literature surrounding the everyday state by illuminating recent changes in state-society relations. It will be of interest to academics in the field of Political Science, Public Policy, Development Studies, Social Anthropology/Sociology, Social Work, and South Asian studies.
It is a wide-spread belief that the cultural background inhered in a society affects the requirements of economic development. This relationship requires theoretical and empirical justification. The present book provides this together with an analysis of the development of cultural background itself. Cultural background is embodied in political institutions, in transactions, knowledge, incentives, in social capital, even in the tangibles of the economy. Thus, economic development is shaped and the rate of growth is affected. Conversely, economic development affects cultural background. When this interaction takes place at a non-developmental cultural background level, which is associated with low growth rates, then a growth trap is formed. Within such agrowth trap, economic policy (public and monetary) is relatively deactivated and the conditions influencing the change in cultural background and its timing are of primary importance."
In this book, original essays by outstanding authors consider key issues in the external economic relations of developing countries.
Virtually all pertinent issues that the world faces today - such as nuclear proliferation, climate change, the spread of infectious disease and economic globalization - imply objects that move. However, surprisingly little is known about how the actual objects of world politics are constituted, how they move and how they change while moving. This book addresses these questions through the concept of 'translation' - the simultaneous processes of object constitution, transportation and transformation. Translations occur when specific forms of knowledge about the environment, international human rights norms or water policies consolidate, travel and change. World Politics in Translation conceptualizes 'translation' for International Relations by drawing on theoretical insights from Literary Studies, Postcolonial Scholarship and Science and Technology Studies. The individual chapters explore how the concept of translation opens new perspectives on development cooperation, the diffusion of norms and organizational templates, the performance in and of international organizations or the politics of international security governance. This book constitutes an excellent resource for students and scholars in the fields of Politics, International Relations, Social Anthropology, Development Studies and Sociology. Combining empirically grounded case studies with methodological reflection and theoretical innovation, the book provides a powerful and productive introduction to world politics in translation.
Sustainability is a topic of great interest today, particularly for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which have witnessed very rapid economic and demographic growth over the past decade. The observed growth has led to unsustainable consumption patterns of vital resources such as water, energy, and food, highlighting the need for an urgent shift towards green growth and sustainable development strategies. Sustainability in the Gulf covers the region's contemporary development challenges through the lens of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which place sustainability at the centre of the solution to the current environmental, economic, and social imbalances facing GCC countries. The book presents multiple analyses of Gulf-specific sustainability topics, examining the current status, challenges, and opportunities, as well as identifying key lessons learned. Innovative and practical policy recommendations are provided, as well as new conceptual angles to the evolving academic debates on the post-oil era in the Gulf. Through chapters covering sector-related studies, as well as the socio-economic dimensions of the sustainability paradigm, this volume offers valuable insights into current research efforts made by the GCC states, proposing a way forward based on lessons learned. This is a valuable resource for students, academics, and researchers in the areas of Environmental Studies, Political Economy, and Economics of the GCC states.
In the years following the financial crash, two issues have become central to the debate in economics: inequality and the uneven nature of sustainable development. These two issues are at the core of this book which aims to explain three key questions: why inequality has increased so much in the last three decades; why most advanced economies are stagnating or are experiencing moderate economic growth; and why, even where economic growth is occurring, the quality of that growth is questioned. Inequality and Uneven Development in the Post-Crisis World is divided into three parts. The first part concerns the theoretical aspects of inequality, and ethical issues regarding economics and equality. The second part explores empirical evidence and policy suggestions drawing on the uneven levels of development and unprecedented levels of inequality experienced among advanced economies in the context of global financial capitalism. The third part focuses on sustainable development issues such as full employment, social costs of global trade liberalization, environmental sustainability and ecological issues. Along with inequality these issues are central for capitalism and for economic development. This volume is of interest to those who study political economy, sustainable development and social inequality.
Faith-based development organizations have become a central part of the lives of the women of rural Rajasthan, and have come to represent an important aspect of both individual and collective identities. And yet, religious teachings continue to be used to exclude women from public decision making forums and render them vulnerable to increasing levels of domestic violence. In a unique multi-disciplinary approach, combining a range of subjects, particularly gender studies, Bradley provides a unique study of the contradictory and complex role of development organisations and faith organizations in the lives of women in rural Rajasthan. This book will be of interest to students, reseachers and policy makers involved in various fields, including those of Development Studies, Religion, Gender Studies and Social Anthropology.
Do we use obscure words to impress our colleagues or fashionable ones to win research proposals? How do poor people define their poverty? How can we use aid budgets most effectively? Are many of our actions against poverty simple, direct and wrong? "Provocations for Development" is an entertaining and unsettling collection of writings that questions concepts, conventions and practices in development. It is made up of short and accessible writings by Robert Chambers, many from the past ten years and some from earlier, reflecting on the evolution of concepts like participation and of organizations like the World Bank. Besides provocations, there is mischief, verse and serious fun. The book is organized into four sections. The first, "Word Play," irreverently examines vocabularies of development and how words are instruments of power. The second, "Poverty and Participation," challenges concepts of poverty, presents empowering breakthroughs in the current explosion of participatory methodologies, and concludes with what can be done at the personal level. The third, "Aid," is critical of past and present procedures and practices in aid and points to feasible changes for doing better. The provocations in the last section "For Our Future" touch on values, ethics, gender and participation, immersions, hypocrisy, and paradigms, and sees hope in children. The final provocation invites readers to find answers to the question what would it take to eliminate poverty in the world? "Provocations for Development" will be enjoyed by development professionals, including academics, students, NGO workers and the staff of international agencies, as well as the wider public."
In 1994, BRAC, the world's largest NGO, made headlines by putting women's rights centre stage in Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world. The Gender Quality Action Learning (GQAL) Programme was one of the very first large-scale efforts to mainstream gender equality and aimed to weave objectives of gender equality throughout its own microfinance, education and health services. Advancing Gender Equality in Bangladesh describes the history, implementation, and outcome of this major 20-year initiative and discusses the lessons learnt throughout the fight to achieve gender equality outcomes in an effort to provide a tangible framework for future organizations interested in promoting gender equality and social inclusion. At a time when many gender equality programmes are still relatively young, this book offers a unique opportunity to track 20 years of intervention within a theoretical and cultural context and provides a platform for ongoing discussion about the roles of empowerment and gender transformation as agents for social change. This book provides an in-depth analysis of how strategies for change have operated in practice and will be of considerable interest to students, researchers and practitioners of international development, gender studies and social justice theory as well as those interested in a new practical methodology of the gender role framework.
This book analyzes various important aspects of methodology and substance regarding economic, social, and political policy in Africa directed toward achieving more effective, efficient, and equitable societal institutions. The chapters are authored by experts from within Africa and also from Africa research institutes elsewhere. The book combines practical policy significance with insightful causal and prescriptive generalizations. The emphasis is on the role of governmental decision-making and the important (but secondary) role of the marketplace, social groups, and engineering.
The promotion of an enterprise culture and entrepreneurship in India in recent decades has had far-reaching implications beyond the economy, and transformed social and cultural attitudes and conduct. This book brings together pioneering research on the nature of India's enterprise culture, covering a range of different themes: workplace, education, religion, trade, films, media, youth identity, gender relations, class formation and urban politics. Based on extensive empirical and ethnographic research by the contributors, the book shows the myriad manifestations of enterprise culture and the making of the aspiring, enterprising-self in public culture, social practice, and personal lives, ranging from attempts to construct hegemonic ideas in public discourse, to appropriation by individuals and groups with unintended consequences, to forms of contested and contradictory expression. It discusses what is 'new' about enterprise culture and how it relates to pre-existing ideas, and goes on to look at the processes and mechanisms through which enterprise culture is becoming entrenched, as well as how it affects different classes and communities. The book highlights the social and political implications of enterprise culture and how it recasts family and interpersonal relationships as well as personal and collective identity. Illuminating one of the most important aspects of India's current economic and social transformation, this book is of interest to students and scholars of Asian Business, Sociology, Anthropology, Development Studies and Media and Cultural Studies.
In the midst of growing criticism of current economic orthodoxies and welfare systems, basic income is growing in popularity. This is the first book to discuss existing at examples of basic income, in both rich and poor countries, and to consider its prospects in other places around the world.
This collection examines change within the major regional organizations of the Asia Pacific: The Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). It has two simultaneous foci: the nature of institutional change in regional organizations, and the process of regionalism in the Asia Pacific. It combines the views of both officials and practitioners, providing new insights into both its major questions.
Across European cities the use of urban space is controversial and subject to diverging interests. On the one hand citizens are increasingly aware of the necessity for self-organising to reclaim green spaces. On the other hand local authorities have started to involve citizens in the governance of urban green spaces. While an increased level of citizen participation and conducive conditions for citizens' self-organisation are a desirable development per se, the risk of functionalising civil society actors by the local authority for neoliberal city development must be kept in mind. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data collected in 29 European cities from all four European geographic regions, this book examines the governance of urban green spaces and urban food production, focusing on the contribution of citizen-driven activities. Over the course of the book, Schicklinski identifies best practice examples of successful collaboration between citizens and local government. The book concludes with policy recommendations with great practical value for local governance in European cities in times of the growth-turn. This book will be of great relevance to students, scholars, and policy-makers with an interest in environmental governance, urban geography, and sustainable development.
This handbook collates research evidence and presents the most up-to-date findings on child development in Sub-Saharan Africa. It discusses complex risk factors and medical conditions affecting childhood outcomes, and spotlights emerging programs for enhancing literacy and cognitive development. The panel of expert contributors offer needed context and knowledge to the discussion of previously understudied topics. Chapters present proven intervention strategies currently in use across the diverse region. In addition, this handbook provides guidelines for culturally sensitive and ethical research that will inform practice and help shape policy goals and initiatives. Topics featured in the Handbook include: * Fatherhood in the African context. * Sibling care-giving and its implications in Sub-Saharan Africa. * Nutritional status, infections, and child development * Diabetes in Sub-Saharan African children. * How to adapt tests for Sub-Saharan Africa. * Interventions aimed at children and caregivers. * A culturally sensitive approach to conducting research and promoting initial literacy development in Africa The Handbook of Applied Developmental Science in Sub-Saharan Africa is a must-have resource for researchers, professionals/scientist-practitioners, and graduate students in child, school, and developmental psychology, as well as pediatrics, social work, public health, and education.
Although the Genocide Convention was already adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1945, it was only in the late 1990s that groups of activists emerged calling for military interventions to halt mass atrocities. The question of who these anti-genocide activists are and what motivates them to call for the use of violence to end violence is undoubtedly worthy of exploration. Based on extensive field research, Anti-genocide Activists and the Responsibility to Protect analyses the ideological convictions that motivate two groups of anti-genocide activists: East Timor solidarity activists and Responsibility to Protect (R2P)-advocates. The book argues that there is an existential undercurrent to the call for mass atrocity interventions; that mass atrocities shock the activists' belief in a humanity that they hold to be sacred. The book argues that the ensuing rise of anti-genocide activism signals a shift in humanitarian sensibilities to human suffering and violence which may have substantial implications for moral judgements on human lives at peril in the humanitarian and human rights community. This book provides a fascinating insight into the worldviews of activists which will be of interest to practitioners and researchers of human rights activism, humanitarian advocacy and peace building.
The book critically examines the effects of the War on Terror on the relationships between civil society, security and aid. It argues that the War on Terror regime has greatly reshaped the field of development and it highlights the longer-lasting impacts of post-9/11 counter-terrorism responses on aid policy and practice on civil society.
Regionalism and World Order assesses the origins, significance and likely evolution of the trend towards regionalism within the world order. It analyses how states have been responding to the end of US hegemony and assesses the extent to which new regional blocs are emerging and their nature. These questions are analysed through detailed case studies of the three most advanced regions of the world economy - the Americas, the European Union, and East Asia - firstly from the standpoint of the 'core' state or states, and secondly from that of the 'peripheral' states.
The speed and scale of urbanisation in India is unprecedented almost anywhere in the world and has tremendous global implications. The religious influence on the urban experience has resonances for all aspects of urban sustainability in India and yet it remains a blind spot while articulating sustainable urban policy. This book explores the historical and on-going influence of religion on urban planning, design, space utilisation, urban identities and communities. It argues that the conceptual and empirical approaches to planning sustainable cities in India need to be developed out of analytical concepts that define local sense of place and identity. Examining how Hindu religious heritage, beliefs and religiously influenced planning practices have impacted on sustainable urbanisation development in Jaipur and Indian cities in general, the book identifies the challenges and opportunities that ritualistic and belief resources pose for sustainability. It focuses on three key aspects: spatial segregation and ghettoisation; gender-inclusive urban development; and the nexus between religion, nature and urban development. This cutting-edge book is one of the first case studies linking Hindu religion, heritage, urban development, women and the environment in a way that responds to the realities of Indian cities. It opens up discussion on the nexus of religion and development, drawing out insightful policy implications for the sustainable urban planning of many cities in India and elsewhere in South Asia and the developing world.
Over the past three decades, South Korea's economic performance has bordered on a miracle. Few economies have achieved such spectacular growth in such a short period of time. Korea's development process provides a sharp contrast to the lackluster growth experienced by many other developing economies and represents several unique characteristics even in comparison with its neighbors Japan and Taiwan. At the same time, certain aspects of its development remain minor mysteries requiring further examination and scrutiny. At the very least, the meteoric rise of a small economy and its people to international prominence after centuries of obscurity, disenfranchisement,and privation, deserves careful investigation and worldwide attention. This collection of 24 original essays focuses on the economic policies that led to the rapid transformation of the Korean economy. Among the salient features of the Korean experience dealt with by the contributors are development policies and the record of development; export policies--exchange rate, import liberalization, factor price distortions, and changing comparative advantage; production technology and total factor productivity; macroeconomic perspectives; conglomeration, business concentration and management practices; income distribution and labor issues, and urban and regional policies. Throughout the book, the role of the government in the development process and the dominance of large businesses in the economic sphere are analyzed extensively. In seeking to trace the relationships among various economic factors and to provide some insight into the process of economic development, this volume marshalls a considerable array of statistics and institutional descriptions as a background for analysis. This book will be welcomed by those studying economic development in general and the East Asian economy in particular as well as by those currently engaged in dealing with Korea. |
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