International development

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Please expand this article. Further information might be found in a section of the talk page or at Requests for expansion.

This article is about International Development. For other forms of development, see Development (disambiguation).

International development is a process aimed at the alleviation of poverty, the creation of infrastructure, the establishment of social programs, the securing of civil liberties, the percentage of literate and illiterate people in the population, GNP per Capita, the promotion of economic growth, and the integration into international political systems of developing countries. It is a multidisciplinary field that encompasses issues associated with governance, healthcare, education, crisis prevention, structural readjustment, economics, democratization and the environment.

International development is distinct from, though conceptually related to, disaster relief and humanitarian aid. While these two forms of aid seek to alleviate some of the problems associated with international development, they are short term fixes. International development, on the other hand, seeks to implement long-term solutions to problems by helping developing countries create the necessary institutions needed to address and solve their problems on their own. It may incorporate a single, transformative project or a series of projects targeted at several aspects of society.

International development is, in most cases, a process undertaken by developing countries with substantial assistance from developed nations and from major intergovernmental organizations, namely the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The process is often viewed as a moral obligation of developed countries towards developing ones as a means of alleviating economic inequalities between states.

Contents 1 The era of development 2 Methods and Concerns 3 See also 3.1 Global agencies engaged in international development 3.2 Regional development agencies 3.3 Development concepts 3.4 Development thinkers 3.5 Development practice 4 References 5 External links

[edit] The era of development

The second half of the 20th century has been called the 'era of development'^[1]. The origins of this era have been attributed to:

• the need for reconstruction in the immediate aftermath of World War II^[2];
• the collapse of colonialism and the establishment of new relationships between so-called 'developed' and 'underdeveloped' nations^[3];
• the start of the Cold War and the desire of the United States and its allies to prevent the Third World from drifting towards communism.

It has been argued that this era was launched on January 20th, 1949, when Harry S. Truman made the following remarks in his inaugural address^[4]:

We must embark on a bold new program for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of underdeveloped areas. The old imperialism - exploitation for foreign profit - has no place in our plans. What we envisage is a program of development based on the concept of democratic fair dealing.

Before this date, however, the United States had taken a leading role in the creation of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (now part of the World Bank Group) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), both established in 1944, in the United Nations in 1945, and the Marshall Plan in 1947. It is also worth noting that CARE, one of the largest development NGOs in the world, was founded by a group of Americans in 1945 to provide relief to survivors of World War II.

If international development had its origins in U.S foreign policy, it acquired a conceptual underpinning during the 1950's in the form of modernization theory espoused by Walt Rostow and other American economists. By the late 1960's, the critics of modernization, some of whom were Neo-Marxists, were advancing a dependency theory to explain the evolving relationship between the West and the Third World. In the 1970's and early 80's, the modernists at the World Bank and IMF adopted the neoliberal ideas of Milton Friedman, which were implemented in the form of structural adjustment programs, while their opponents were promoting various 'bottom up' approaches, ranging from civil disobedience and conscientization to appropriate technology and Rapid Rural Appraisal.

By the 1990's, development theory had reached an impasse ^[5] and some academics were imagining a postdevelopment era^[6]. The Cold War had ended, capitalism had become the dominant mode of social organization, and UN statistics showed that living standards around the world had improved over the past 40 years^[7]. Nevertheless, a large portion of the world's population were still living in poverty, their governments were crippled by debt and concerns about the environmental impact of globalization were rising.

In response to the impasse, the rhetoric of development is now focussing on the issue of poverty, with the metanarrative of modernization being replaced by shorter term vision embodied by the Millenium Development Goals. At the same time, some development agencies are exploring opportunities for public-private partnerships and promoting the idea of Corporate social responsibility with the apparent aim of integrating international development with the process of economic globalization^[8].

The critics have suggested that this integration has always been part of the underlying agenda of development^[9]. They argue that poverty can be equated with powerlessness, and that the way to overcome poverty is through emancipatory social movements, not paternalistic aid programmes or corporate charity^[10].

While some critics have been debating the end of development other have predicted a development revival as part of the War on Terror. To date, however, there is limited evidence to support the notion that aid budgets are being used to counter islamic fundamentalism in the same way that they were used 40 years ago to counter communism^[11].

[edit] Methods and Concerns

During recent decades, development thinking has shifted from modernization and structural adjustment programs to poverty reduction. Under the former system, poor countries were encouraged to undergo social and economical structural transformations as part of their development, creating industrialization and intentional industrial policy. Poverty reduction rejects this notion, consisting instead of direct budget support for social welfare programs that create macroeconomic stability leading to an increase in economic growth.

However, even the terms "developed" and "developing" (or "underdeveloped"), have proven problematic in forming policy as they ignore issues of wealth distribution and the lingering effects of colonialism. Some theorists see development efforts as fundamentally neo-colonial, in which a wealthier nation forces its industrial and economic structure on a poorer nation, which will then become a consumer of the developed nation's goods and services. Post-developmentalists, for example, see development as a form of Western cultural imperialism that hurts the people of poor countries and endangers the environment to such an extent that they suggest rejection of development altogether.

[edit] See also

[edit] Global agencies engaged in international development

• World Bank
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• Institute of Development Management and Governance at UPLB (IDMG)[4]
• Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), especially Development charities.
• United States Agency for International Development
• List of development aid agencies

[edit] Regional development agencies

• African Development Bank
• Asian Development Bank
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
• Inter-American Development Bank

[edit] Development concepts

Further information: Category:Development

• Poverty
• Overpopulation
• Developing countries' debt
• Development geography
• Development theory
• Economic development
• Community development
• Codevelopment
• Sustainable development
• Development aid
• Development assistance
• Development studies
• Development criticism
• Millenium Development Goals
• Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development
• Gender and development (in the article on gender)
• Category:International development stubs

[edit] Development thinkers

Further information: Category:Development specialists

• Amy Chua
• Norman Borlaug
• Ester Boserup
• Lester R. Brown
• Robert Chambers
• Arturo Escobar
• Paulo Freire
• John Kenneth Galbraith
• David Korten
• Manfred Max-Neef
• Gunnar Myrdal
• Helena Norberg-Hodge
• Walt Whitman Rostow
• Jeffrey Sachs
• Wolfgang Sachs
• Amartya Sen
• Vandana Shiva
• Sulak Sivaraksa
• E. F. Schumacher
• Joseph Stiglitz
• M. S. Swaminathan
• Mohammed Yunus

[edit] Development practice

Further information: Category:International development stubs

• Microfinance
• Appropriate technology
• Sustainable agriculture
• Public health
• Family planning
• Rural infrastructure
• Rural community development
• Debt relief
• Trade and development
• Good governance
• Capacity building
• Participation (decision making)[5]
• Asset Based Community Development (ABCD)

[edit] References

1. ^ Thomas, A.(2000) Poverty and the end of development, in Allen, T. and Thomas, A. 'Poverty and development into the 21st century', OUP
2. ^ Browne, S. (1990) Foreign aid in practice, New York Uni.Press
3. ^ Rahnema, M. (1997) Introduction, in Rahnema, M (ed.) 'The Post-Development Reader', Zed Books
4. ^ Esteva, G. (1992) Development, in Sachs, W (ed.) 'The Development Dictionary:a guide to knowledge as power', Zed Books
5. ^ Schuurman, F.J. (1993) Beyond the impasse: new directions in development theory, Zed Press
6. ^ Escobar, A. (1995) Encountering development: the making and unmaking of the third world", Princeton.
7. ^ Wroe, M and Doney, M, The rough guide to a better world, Rough Guides and the Department for International Development, UK [1]
8. ^ Utting, P. (2003) Promoting Development through Corporate Social Responsibility - Does it Work?, UNRISD [2]
9. ^ Korten, D. (1995) When corporations rule the world, Kumaria Press
10. ^ Parfitt, T. (2002), The end of development? Modernity, Post-Modernity and Development, Pluto press
11. ^ Moss, T., Roodman, D. and Standley, S. (2005) The Global War on Terror and U.S. Development Assistance, Center for Global Development[3]

[edit] External links

• Development Ratings (www.developmentratings.com) Recommendations and research on high-impact charities that work in some of the least developed countries.
• Studying-Development (www.Studying-Development.org) A resource aiming to help orientate those wishing to enter, or already active in the field of International Development. This directory is international in scope and covers professional training, as well as university degree courses.
• Public Private Dialogue A resource for international development practitioners wishing to promote reforms through dialogue (sponsored by World Bank, IFC, OCED, DFID, GTZ)
• The Center for Global Development is an independent, not-for-profit think tank that works to reduce global poverty and inequality by encouraging policy change in the U.S. and other rich countries through rigorous research and active engagement with the policy community.
• Alma Mata - International network for global health graduates.
• A Self-help Assistance Program (ASAP Africa) A non-profit organization working for sustainable community development in Southern Africa
• Chr. Michelsen Institute Major Scandinavian development research institute
• Governance Focus issues in governance worldwide, in English & Español
• The intellectual revolution in international development, Globalisation Institute (2006).
• Nonprofit Law and Consultation Legal Information for International Development Organizations in the US.
• Center for International Finance & Development University of Iowa research center, includes a 300 page E-book.
• The World Bank Participation Sourcebook
• Development Gateway Global knowledge sharing network founded by the World Bank
• Media Helping Media Discussion forum for international media development.
• The Development Executive Group (www.DevelopmentEx.com) The leading membership organization bringing efficiency to international development through business intelligence and recruiting services.
• directory of development organizations - Comprehensive listing of 47.500 development organizations dedicated to good governance, sustainable development and poverty reduction.
• The Development Insight Project - A forum to gather thoughts from international development professionals who work on the ground about the insight they have gained over the years and neer had a chance to share.