Development through the
decades
A journey through 50 years of
development theory, policy and practice
What is ‘development’
Economic growth
Social progress
Improved quality of life
Helping communities help themselves
When was the term first used?
1949
World context
Development
Theory, Policy and
Practice
Events
Beliefs
War and conflict
Theory
Leaders
Approaches
Zeitgeist
World context
Development Theory,
Policy and Practice
Post-war Europe
US emerges as dominant
world power
Marshall Plan
Cold War
NATO
Indian independence
Independence
movements in
former colonies
Chairman
Mao
Stalin
Churchill
‘never had it so good’
Invention of ‘development’
1950s
‘Development’ = economic
growth by modernisation
and industrialization
Follow the
example of USA
Progress
measured
by GNP
National
planning
World context
Postwar economic boom
Cuban
Missile
Crisis
OPEC
founded
Vietnam
War
Berlin Wall built
Development Theory,
Policy and Practice
Development =
economic growth and
modernisation through
technology
Green Revolution
1960s
Decolonisation across Africa
Student uprisings in
Europe and US
Kennedy &
Johnson
Rostow (1960) Stages
of Economic Growth
Top-down centralised
and structured
approach
Krushchev
American
consumerism
Moon landing
Sectoral and regional
planning
‘Development Decade’
World context
Oil shortages - period
of austerity
American loses
Vietnam War
Liberation movements
in Africa
Middle East peace
process starts
Student movements
Peace
movements
Flower power
Labour government Wilson & Callahagn
Nixon - Watergate scandal
Development Theory,
Policy and Practice
Acute poverty and
inequitable growth in
Third World
Dependency
theory
1970s
Neo-colonialism
Calls for New International
Economic Order
Redistribution
with growth
Basic needs
Year 2000 targets set
Development Theory,
Policy and Practice
World context
Debt crisis
Development =
economic restructuring
Ethiopian famine
Falklands War
Neo-liberalism
Chernobyl
Tiananmen Square
massacre
Hostage crisis in
Middle East
1980s
Miners strike
Thatcher &
Reagan
Yuppies
Berlin Wall down
Structural
adjustment
programmes
Trade
not aid
Impasse in
development theory
Growing
environmental
concerns
‘Lost decade for development’
Development Theory,
Policy and Practice
World context
End of Communism
in Europe
End of
apartheid in
EU born
South Africa
New policy agenda
Hong Kong handover
Rise of NGOs
Ethnic conflict - Somalia,
Rwanda, ex-Yugoslavia
1990s
Rio Earth Summit
Participatory
development
Human
Structural
Development
adjustment with a
Index
human face
Jubilee
2000 debt
campaign
Globalisation
Development
through new
civil society
Environment on agenda
Blair and
Clinton
Anti development
Development Theory,
Policy and Practice
World context
Millennium
Euro
currency
Postmodern development
Post development
Environmental disasters
Mugabe re-elected
Anti-globalisation
movements
Sept 11th
Wars in Afghanistan
and Iraq
Rise of fundamentalist Islam
Fear of global terrorism
Postmodernism irrelevant
2000s
Dominance of
NGOs
‘Capacity
building’ Millennuim
goals
Liberal economist
viewpoint still dominates
international institutions
and governments
Despite 50 years of ‘development’ the
problem of poverty is as great as it ever was
Will be saying the same in
another 50 years?