Development studies Books

This book examines the ways in which colonialism continues to define the political economy of Nigeria sixty years after gaining political independence from the British. It also establishes a link between colonialism and the continued agitation for...

This book interrogates Africa's pursuit of the Democratic Developmental State model by drawing on the experiences of Mauritius, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. It comprises of five parts: Part I, consisting of two chapters, outlines the key conceptual and...

This book is an open invitation to the enterprise of re-imagining an alternative decolonial development project in Africa. It does this by focusing on the triple themes of African agency, development finance, and African developmental states in the...

This book suggests that our notions of civil society have undergone radical changes-including structural changes in the nature of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Such massive structural changes greatly...

The focus of this volume is on the role of the developmental state in a situation in which a series of major crises affects the (semi-) periphery of the global economy. The authors go beyond the established debate on developmental states in East Asia by...

This book distinguishes conceptually between indigenous and constructed social capital and the associated spontaneous and induced collective action for rural development and natural resource preservation. While some of the case studies in this book show...

This book contributes to the current revival of dependency approaches for the analysis of global capitalism. Reflecting on contemporary uses of the "Dependency Research Program" (DRP) and a refined analytical toolkit, it makes two distinctive...

This book examines the UN 2030 SDGs Agenda and its comprehensive, multi-stakeholder approach to achieving a more human rights-based and environmentally sustainable development process. More crucially, it provides a much needed and innovative analysis of...

This first study of faith-based development NGOs' (FBOs) political roles focuses on how U.S. FBOs in international development educate and mobilize their constituencies. Most pursue cautious reformist agendas, but FBOs have sometimes played important...

This book examines the global campaign to end hunger and malnutrition. Focus is placed on the work of the United Nations which has led international efforts to improve food security in the world's poorest countries. The book first reviews the long-term...

This book emphasizes the significance of affects, feelings and emotions in how we think about politics, gender and sexuality in Latin America. Considering the complex and even contradictory social processes that the region is...

This book explores the variations in the transformation of the Asian developmental state in South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. Based on an original theory, the author argues that these variations are influenced by two factors: industrial structure and...

This book conceptualises the ongoing hydropower expansion in Southwest China as a socio-political and transnational project transcending the construction of dams. Chapters in this volume are organised around three sections spanning hydropower and...

This book explores Jamaica's contemporary relationship with the International Monetary Fund since 2010. It looks at Jamaica's high debt and its inability to access financial support amidst international capital market restrictions, contextualizing harsh...

This open access handbook analyses the role of development cooperation in achieving the 2030 Agenda in a global context of 'contested cooperation'. Development actors, including governments providing aid or South-South Cooperation, developing countries,...

This open access book honors the work of Michael Cernea, who was the World Bank's first professional sociologist, by taking on and extending his arguments for "putting people first." Cernea led a community of social scientists in formulating and...

This book is a political ethnography of norm diffusion and storytelling through international institutions in China. It is driven by intellectual puzzles and realpolitik questions: are we converging or diverging on values? Do emerging powers reinforce or...

This book discusses the geopolitics of development from the point of view of the Global South. Written by scholars and development experts from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, this volume presents reflections on various historical, current, and future...

While the rise of social protection in the global North has been widely researched, we know little about the history of social protection in the global South. This volume investigates the experiences of four middle-income countries - Brazil, India, China...

How can the successful development of some former Third World countries be explained, while other developing countries have remained stagnant or worse, have deteriorated into failed states? This book offers a history of the economics of development...

This book discusses the fundamental issues regarding the effect of real estate regulation on housing, urban development, and considerations of justice and efficiency. Bringing together the contributions of prominent scholars representing diverse...

This book explores the evolution of Brazilian foreign relations in the last fifteen years, with a focus on continuities and change. The volume tackles three sets of themes: diplomacy and diplomatic culture, international security and international...

This book chronicles the divergent growth trends in car production in Belgium and Spain. It delves into how European integration, high wages, and the demise of GM and Ford led to plant closings in Belgium.  Next, it investigates how lower wages and...

This book examines the life and work of Ajit Singh (1940-2015), a leading radical post-Keynesian applied economist who made major contributions to the policy-oriented study of both developed and developing economies, and was a key figure in the life and...

A remarkable novel written by the Brazilian journalist Bernardo Kucinski. K is the story of a father who searches desperately for his daughter, 'disappeared' during the military dictatorship in Brazil. The father is himself a refugee from Poland in the...

In 2003 Néstor Kirchner took power in a country still reeling from financial meltdown. He set out to reverse the extreme neo-liberal policies of the 1990s. The legacy of Kirchnerism offers key lessons for progressive politics everywhere – and points to...

Amazon Besieged tells the story of two writers' long investigative trip along the basin in 2016 and 2017. As if travelling through history, the authors were able to trace the way an outside economic force arrives and dispossesses earlier inhabitants and...

This book contains topical articles covering the "levantamientos" of 1999 and 2000 and interviews with indigenous leaders to provide a unique insight into one of the strongest movements in Latin America. The selection of essays and background information...

Rodolfo Walsh was a writer of crime novels, a tireless investigative journalist who uncovered real political crimes, an instant historian of a turbulent and violent era in Argentinian and Latin American politics.This is an account of Rudolfo Walsh's life...

Haiti's dramatic history, pressing social problems and rich culture make it one of the most fascinating nations in the Americas. This book reflects Haiti's diversity through the best writing, both from and about the country.

This is a first hand account of the most pressing social problems in Brazil: indigenous rights, street children, land and racism. Her activism, from her days as a favela organizer to national politician, reflects the most pressing concerns of Brazil's...

In this work, the author makes it clear that there is more to Mexico's environment than city smog. This book gives an account of the whole range of environmental problems which face Mexico's people, from tourist development to oil spills and land...

Caribbean Currents is an exploration of the region's music - its forms and innovations, musicians, festivals, and dance halls, its fans - and traces its African, Asian and European roots. This book is oriented toward a few distinct yet overlapping sets...

This work portrays Latin America's peoples in their fight for a brighter future. It explores the region's economic crisis and the desecration of the environment. The author shows how injustice and conflict in the countryside have unleashed an exodus to...

Profiles the people on the front-line of an environmental war, from indigenous groups and forest settlers to fishing communities, peasant farmers, flower workers, shanty-town activists and many more.

Faecal Sludge and Septage Treatment confronts the urgent need to treat increasing volumes of faecal sludge and septage in the rapidly expanding towns and cities of the global south. It discusses the urban contexts that influence treatment requirements...

The Politics of Evidence and Results in International Development critically examines the context and history of the current demands for results-oriented measurement and for evidence of value for money.This book will inspire development professionals and...

Participation Pays argues for the need, in any vibrant democracy, for ways of making development more accountable to excluded communities, and invites an understanding of marginalized people not simply as beneficiaries of technical solutions, but...

This second edition of LEGS builds on the first edition by incorporating new experiences and evidence obtained since 2009 as well as user feedback provided as a result of a broad consultation process. The LEGS Handbook has also been redesigned to make it...

How do we know whether our development programmes are reducing poverty andempowering the most vulnerable people? What evidence do we have to support our theoryof change? Qualitative research for development aims to build the research capacity...

Well-designed microfinance can help poor people improve their lives but generally such programmes do not reach the poorest. As a result, NGOs and donors have started to mount programmes explicitly targeting the extreme poor, the poorest and the...

The current global economic crisis is expected to lead to millions more people being pushed into extreme poverty. The effects are profoundly different for women and men, and the existing gender inequalities and power imbalances mean that additional...

The International Seed Treaty came into force in 2004 was the culmination of over 20 years of negotiation. The need for a treaty arose out of a growing awareness that crucial plant genetic resources are being irretrievably lost. This book describes the...