Rethinking Development Geographies

Marcus Power

Softcover

ISBN 10: 041525079X ISBN 13: 9780415250795

Publisher: Routledge, 2003

Development as a concept is notoriously imprecise, vague and presumptuous. Struggles over the meaning of this fiercely contested term have had profound implications on the destinies of people and places across the globe. Rethinking Development Geographies offers a stimulating and critical introduction to the study of geography and development. In doing so, it sets out to explore the spatiality of development thinking and practices.

The book highlights the geopolitical nature of development and its origins in Empire and the Cold War. It also reflects critically on the historical engagement of geographers with 'the Tropics', the 'Third World' and the 'South'. The dominant economic and political philosophies that shape the policies and perspectives of major institutions are discussed. The interconnections between globalization and development are highlighted through an examination of local, national and transnational resistance to various forms of development.

The text provides an accessible introduction to the complex and confusing world of contemporary global development. Informative diagrams, cartoons and case studies are used throughout. While exploring global geographies of economic and political change Rethinking Development Geographies is also grounded in a concern with people and places, the 'view from below', the views of women and the view from the 'South'.

Review:

'Clear, well-illustrated and organized, and written in a stimulating and accessible style, it is an important and timely addition to the literature.' - Progress in Human Geography

Synopsis:

Rethinking Development Geographies offers a stimulating critical introduction to the changing geographies of global development. It moves away from the traditional approach of providing descriptive accounts of Third World geographical issues, and instead finds alternative geography of development theories and practices, which shows that 'development' has been a pain-staking, protracted and fiercely contested process. By examining the progress towards development at the beginning of the twenty-first century, it raises issues of debt and democracy, but also looks at the recent wave of anti-capitalist protests and global financial summits. It provides a critical history of Development Geography as a sub-discipline, exploring some of the different historical and geographical settings in which geographers have conducted research about development. At the same time it gives a wide-ranging introduction to contemporary patterns and debates about global development.

Rather than being divided by the various traditional dimensions of development, such as the agricultural/industrial, urban/rural, global/local, theory/practice, it traverses some of these simplistic divides with a thematic and historicised approach, to illustrate the complexity and interconnections between the themes, issues and case-studies presented in the book. Indeed, one of the key contentions of Rethinking Development Geographies , is that development is too often seen in a linear fashion and in reality often involves more complicated trajectories. Rethinking Development Geographies considers the spatiality of development, rather than simply adding a geographical twist to existing debates about development. The book explores critical and radical perspectives on development as a global industry, with a specific geography of power. Case-studies are drawn from Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Caribbean; boxes highlight and explain key theories and competing perspectives on development; chapter objectives and summaries are given and there is annotated further reading for each chapter.