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Arresting Development: The power of knowledge for social change
Scholars have become increasingly concerned about the impact of neo-liberalism on the field of development. Governments around the world have for some time been exposed to the forces of globalization and macro-economic reform, reflecting the power and influence of the world’s principal international economic institutions and a broader commitment to the principles of neo-classical economics and free trade. Concerns have also been raised that neo-classical theory now dominates the ways in which scholars frame and ask their questions in the field of development.
This book is about the ways in which ideologies shape the construction of knowledge for development. A central theme concerns the impact of neo-liberalism on contemporary development theory and research. The book’s main objectives are twofold. One is to understand the ways in which neo-liberalism has framed and defined the ‘meta-theoretical’ aims and assumptions of what is deemed relevant, important and appropriate to the study of development. A second is to explore the theoretical and ideological terms on which an alternative to neo-classical theory may be theorized, idealized and pursued. By tracing the impact of Marxism, postmodernism and liberalism on the study of development, Arresting Development contends that development has become increasingly fragmented in terms of the theories and methodologies it uses to understand and explain complex and contextually-specific processes of economic development and social change. Outside of neo-classical economics (and related fields of rational choice), the notion that social science can or should aim to develop general and predictive theories about development has become mired in a philosophical and political orientation that questions the ability of scholars to make universal or comparative statements about the nature of history, cultural diversity and progress.
To advance the debate, a case is made that development needs to re-capture what the American sociologist Peter Evans once called the ‘comparative institutional method.’ At the heart of this approach is an inductive methodology that searches for commonalities and connections to broader historical trends and problems while at the same time incorporating divergent and potentially competing views about the nature of history, culture and development. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of Development, Social and Political Studies and it will also be beneficial to professionals interested in the challenge of constructing "knowledge for development."
This book is about the ways in which ideologies shape the construction of knowledge for development. A central theme concerns the impact of neo-liberalism on contemporary development theory and research. The book’s main objectives are twofold. One is to understand the ways in which neo-liberalism has framed and defined the ‘meta-theoretical’ aims and assumptions of what is deemed relevant, important and appropriate to the study of development. A second is to explore the theoretical and ideological terms on which an alternative to neo-classical theory may be theorized, idealized and pursued. By tracing the impact of Marxism, postmodernism and liberalism on the study of development, Arresting Development contends that development has become increasingly fragmented in terms of the theories and methodologies it uses to understand and explain complex and contextually-specific processes of economic development and social change. Outside of neo-classical economics (and related fields of rational choice), the notion that social science can or should aim to develop general and predictive theories about development has become mired in a philosophical and political orientation that questions the ability of scholars to make universal or comparative statements about the nature of history, cultural diversity and progress.
To advance the debate, a case is made that development needs to re-capture what the American sociologist Peter Evans once called the ‘comparative institutional method.’ At the heart of this approach is an inductive methodology that searches for commonalities and connections to broader historical trends and problems while at the same time incorporating divergent and potentially competing views about the nature of history, culture and development. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of Development, Social and Political Studies and it will also be beneficial to professionals interested in the challenge of constructing "knowledge for development."
209 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
8 people want to read
About the author
Craig Johnson
7 books1 followerCraig Johnson
Associate Professor
BAH (Queen's University), MA (University of Toronto), Ph.D. (London School of Economics)
Areas of interest
Comparative politics; Asian politics; international development; poverty; human security; climate change; democratic governance; decentralization; Thailand; India; Bangladesh.
I teach in the field of international development, and specialize primarily on the politics of aid, the politics of India and the political economy of globalization and development. I hold a Ph.D. in International Development from the London School of Economics (http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/DESTIN), where my work on environmental degradation and ethnic conflict in Southern Thailand explored the conditions under which local communities can establish proprietary rights of access and conservation in common pool resources, such as forests and fisheries. Prior to joining the University of Guelph in 2002, I was a post-doctoral fellow with the Overseas Development Institute (www.odi.org.uk) in London, England. In 2008 and 2009 I was a James Martin 21st Century Visiting Fellow in the Environmental Change Institute (http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk) at Oxford University.
Outside of my professional life, I am a father of three and am married to the locally-renowned furniture and cabinet maker, Sara Moore. I live in the “Royal City” of Guelph, Ontario.
Current research interests and opportunities
My research lies in the field of comparative and Asian politics, and concerns the politics of decentralization, democratic governance and human security, primarily in Thailand, India and, more recently, in Bangladesh. One major area of work for me concerns the long-term patterns of migration, displacement and violence affecting the political and economic security of India’s religious minorities. A central aim in this research is to understand the factors affecting the participation and inclusion of religious (and primarily Muslim) minorities in India’s local democratic forums, the “panchayats”. Currently, I am leading a three year project (funded by SSHRC, starting in 2009), which is looking at the protection, accommodation and participation of India’s religious minorities in the panchayats. Field research for this project will not begin until 2010, but I am currently recruiting prospective graduate students (at either the MA or Ph.D. level). Information about the project and about possible opportunities for graduate study may be obtained by emailing me at cjohns06@uoguelph.ca.
A second area of interest concerns the institutional mechanisms by which international development assistance may strengthen the rights and entitlements of populations displaced by the impacts of climate change. Currently at Oxford I am taking forward new work on the ways in which asset transfers, conditional cash transfers and other forms of social protection may facilitate pro-poor adaptation to climate change. Later this year, I will be helping to design the second phase of the UK Department for International Development’s Chars Livelihoods Programme (www.clp-bangladesh.org), a 7-year program aimed at strengthening the livelihoods and reducing vulnerability of very poor households to chronic flooding and long-term environmental change in the island “char” communities of central Bangladesh.
Finally, I take a long-standing interest in the state of the art of development theory and practice. My book Arresting Development (Routledge, 2009) looks at the ways in which competing ideologies have shaped the construction of knowledge for development (http://www.routledge.com/books/Arrest...). A central theme concerns the rise and fall of the “grand” development theories of Marxism and dependency, and the various intellectual traditions that have now entered the field. A central claim is that development has become very good at documenting the nuance and complexity of local development processes, but
Associate Professor
BAH (Queen's University), MA (University of Toronto), Ph.D. (London School of Economics)
Areas of interest
Comparative politics; Asian politics; international development; poverty; human security; climate change; democratic governance; decentralization; Thailand; India; Bangladesh.
I teach in the field of international development, and specialize primarily on the politics of aid, the politics of India and the political economy of globalization and development. I hold a Ph.D. in International Development from the London School of Economics (http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/DESTIN), where my work on environmental degradation and ethnic conflict in Southern Thailand explored the conditions under which local communities can establish proprietary rights of access and conservation in common pool resources, such as forests and fisheries. Prior to joining the University of Guelph in 2002, I was a post-doctoral fellow with the Overseas Development Institute (www.odi.org.uk) in London, England. In 2008 and 2009 I was a James Martin 21st Century Visiting Fellow in the Environmental Change Institute (http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk) at Oxford University.
Outside of my professional life, I am a father of three and am married to the locally-renowned furniture and cabinet maker, Sara Moore. I live in the “Royal City” of Guelph, Ontario.
Current research interests and opportunities
My research lies in the field of comparative and Asian politics, and concerns the politics of decentralization, democratic governance and human security, primarily in Thailand, India and, more recently, in Bangladesh. One major area of work for me concerns the long-term patterns of migration, displacement and violence affecting the political and economic security of India’s religious minorities. A central aim in this research is to understand the factors affecting the participation and inclusion of religious (and primarily Muslim) minorities in India’s local democratic forums, the “panchayats”. Currently, I am leading a three year project (funded by SSHRC, starting in 2009), which is looking at the protection, accommodation and participation of India’s religious minorities in the panchayats. Field research for this project will not begin until 2010, but I am currently recruiting prospective graduate students (at either the MA or Ph.D. level). Information about the project and about possible opportunities for graduate study may be obtained by emailing me at cjohns06@uoguelph.ca.
A second area of interest concerns the institutional mechanisms by which international development assistance may strengthen the rights and entitlements of populations displaced by the impacts of climate change. Currently at Oxford I am taking forward new work on the ways in which asset transfers, conditional cash transfers and other forms of social protection may facilitate pro-poor adaptation to climate change. Later this year, I will be helping to design the second phase of the UK Department for International Development’s Chars Livelihoods Programme (www.clp-bangladesh.org), a 7-year program aimed at strengthening the livelihoods and reducing vulnerability of very poor households to chronic flooding and long-term environmental change in the island “char” communities of central Bangladesh.
Finally, I take a long-standing interest in the state of the art of development theory and practice. My book Arresting Development (Routledge, 2009) looks at the ways in which competing ideologies have shaped the construction of knowledge for development (http://www.routledge.com/books/Arrest...). A central theme concerns the rise and fall of the “grand” development theories of Marxism and dependency, and the various intellectual traditions that have now entered the field. A central claim is that development has become very good at documenting the nuance and complexity of local development processes, but
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