The Essential Guide to Critical Development Studies provides an up-to-date and authoritative introduction to the field, challenging mainstream development discourse and the assumptions that underlie it.

Critical development studies lays bare the economic, political, social, and environmental crises that characterise the current global capitalist system, proposing instead systemic change and different pathways for moving beyond capitalism into a new world of genuine progress where economic and social justice and ecological integrity prevail. In this book, the authors challenge market-driven, neoliberal development agendas, incorporating analyses of class, gender, race, and the dynamics of uneven capitalist development. This thoroughly revised and expanded second edition includes:

* 18 new chapters, including on topics such as philanthrocapitalism, race, the energy transition, Indigenous resistance and resilience, and global health

* Expanded global coverage, including new chapters on South Africa, North Africa, and the Gulf Arab states

* A new section on resistance and alternatives

* Additional pedagogical features, including a glossary of key terms, discussion questions, and expanded guides for further reading.

This textbook will be essential reading for students of global development, political science, sociology, economics, gender studies, geography, history, anthropology, agrarian studies, international political economy, and area studies. It will also be an important resource for development researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.

About the Author

Henry Veltmeyer is Senior Research Professor at the Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas, Mexico, and Professor Emeritus of International Development Studies (IDS) at Saint Mary's University, Canada.

Paul Bowles is Professor of Global Studies and Economics at the University of Northern British Columbia, Canada.

Reviews

'In this updated and expanded edition across over forty chapters, this volume is the "go to" source for scholars and students of critical development studies. It provides the highest levels of scholarship and knowledge around the history, content and scope of the field with relevance for challenging and posing contemporary policy and activism.'

Ben Fine, Emeritus Professor, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK

'Given the aspirations for social, economic and climate justice, the need for critical, interdisciplinary knowledge that points us toward bold alternatives has never been greater. This Essential Guide offers an invaluable resource in this regard. Its chronicling of the trajectory of development studies will be particularly useful to contemporary scholars to see their ideas in a historical context.'

Ananya Mukherjee Reed, Professor, Department of Economics, Philosophy and Political Science, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Canada; Co-editor, Canadian Journal of Development Studies

'The second edition of The Essential Guide to Critical Development Studies offers a theoretically sophisticated, comprehensive and highly accessible guide to the growing field of international development studies from a critical perspective. It is critical in two senses: critical of mainstream development thought, while at the same time scrutinising popular ideas on alternatives. It will be an indispensable guide for academic researchers (students and senior scholars) as well as activists and development policy practitioners.'

Saturnino M. Borras Jr., Professor of Agrarian Studies, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), the Netherlands

'We have not reached the end of history but the story of progress, its errors and criticisms, is the most important one in social science. Here critical development scholars have both charted and navigated an extensive archipelago of ideas to produce this guide. This updated and expanded edition covers many crucial debates and is indispensable.'

Barbara Harriss-White, FAcSS, Emeritus Professor and Fellow, Wolfson College, Oxford University, UK

Book Information
ISBN 9780367478858
Author Henry Veltmeyer
Format Paperback
Page Count 412
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 716g