International development is a vibrant, interdisciplinary area of the social sciences. This Short Guide offers a uniquely succinct and balanced account of this politically charged subject. It distils both the classic and newer debates together in a clear framework and illustrates them with contemporary examples.
Designed to introduce a wide readership to international development, the book:
-
considers how far the field has been reconfigured over time and to what extent it is likely to change in the future;
-
reviews contemporary topics including tourism, migration and digital technologies;
-
includes distinctive international case studies and examples.
By providing a succinct evaluation of competing approaches to, and perspectives on, the idea and practice of international development, this book offers students across the social sciences a distinct and invaluable introduction to the field.
EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.
Though a globally shared experience, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected societies across the world in radically different ways. This book examines the unique implications of the pandemic in the Global South.
With international contributors from a variety of disciplines including health, economics and geography, the book investigates the pandemic’s effects on development, medicine, gender (in)equality and human rights among other issues. Its analysis illuminates further subsequent crises of interconnection, a pervasive health provision crisis and a resulting rise in socio-economic inequality.
The book’s assessment offers an urgent discourse on the ways in which the impact of COVID-19 can be mitigated in some of the most challenging socio-economic contexts in the world.
Community development is routinely invoked as a practical solution to tackle a myriad of social problems, even though there is little consensus about its meaning and purpose.
Through a comparative analysis of competing perspectives on community development since 1968, this book critically examines the contradictory ideas and practices that have shaped this field in the US and the UK. This approach exposes a problematic politics that have far-reaching consequences for those committed to working for social justice.
This accessible book offers an alternative model for thinking about the politics of community development and so will appeal to academics, postgraduate students and community development workers.
Evan Easton-Calabria’s critical history of refugee self-reliance assistance brings new dimensions to refugee and international development studies.
The promotion of refugee self-reliance is evident today, yet its history remains largely unexplored, with good practices and longstanding issues often missed. Through archival and contemporary evidence, this book documents a century of little-known efforts to foster refugee self-reliance, including the economic, political, and social motives driving this assistance.
With five case studies from Greece, Tanzania, Pakistan, Uganda, and Egypt, the book tracks refugee self-reliance as a malleable concept used to pursue ulterior interests. It reshapes understandings of refugee self-reliance and delivers important messages for contemporary policymaking.
31 three The nature of development work This chapter begins with an account of community development that defines it as a form of state intervention. While the overall focus is wider than community development per se, including a wider range of professionals with a ‘development’ brief, the history of community development has relevance for a critical understanding of the roots and inherent tensions of public policies towards community engagement and community capacity building. As the chapter demonstrates, community development approaches have been applied
129 CHAPTER THREE The politics of development Chapter One concluded that the concept of the developmental state, despite its alleged shortcomings, may still be considered a useful tool in addressing inadequate developmental dynamics in some poor countries. The concept itself will still be applicable as long as the globalisation process requires significant corrections in order to achieve more equitable development and as long as disguised interventionist forces shape the global economy. Moreover, when the neo-liberal economic ideology has been discredited
To what extent are the ideas and practice of community development across Europe similar? Community Development and Civil Society explores this question with special reference to the UK and Hungary and shows how community development connects powerfully with civil society, a concept that today has global significance.
Paul Henderson and Ilona Vercseg argue that community development is both a profession and a social movement and is relevant to a wide range of issues.They interweave case studies with discussion of principles and theory.The book's critical and accessible approach will appeal especially to students and practitioners.
Making spaces for community development offers an account of the key changes to the context and practice of community development since the 1970s, told through the experiences and insights of a group of highly experienced practitioners. The book, intended for those practising and interested in practising community development today, focuses on dilemmas arising from the shift to partnership working from a more confrontational model, and the professionalisation of the field.
Bringing together a wealth of experience and knowledge from across areas of play and youth work through to the environment, community enterprise, race equality, immigration and housing, the book raises key questions for contemporary debates and current practice.
