Subject Area: Development Studies

How ‘sustainable’ is the rapid development taking place across industrializing Asia? What are the drivers of regional modernization? And what are some of the major barriers to achieving good governance? With accelerating socio-economic growth becoming predicated upon the exploitation of finite natural resources, this has given rise to a range of concerns within the Asian region pertaining to widespread ecological degradation. Focusing on empirical cases drawn from Northeast and Southeast Asia, this course provides critical insights into the nexus between the developmental imperatives and ecological challenges facing both developed and developing countries. Here, the overarching challenge of striking a balance between economic development and environmental sustainability is explored against the backdrop of the unprecedented social and political transformations happening across the region. The course examines how state-led resource and infrastructure development, in particular, has impacted the quality of—and capacity for—governance at multiple scales. In so doing, it offers a glimpse into the complex processes involved in the formulation and implementation of social and environmental policies within the Asian context.