Subject Area: Development Studies
This course can also be studied in the following specialisation: International Relations

Why do some development interventions, despite all the best intentions, inadvertently end up doing harm and create negative development outcomes? Why does poverty, inequality, and uneven resource distribution persist in the world? In order to find the answer to these questions, you will have to learn how to apply a political lens to development questions.

This course complements ARTS2751 International Development and helps you to understand the influence of politics at a local level on development outcomes. You will analyse the dynamics within countries that are recipients of international aid, examining the role of local actors in development assistance, with a focus on the experiences of individuals and communities living there.

Drawing on the interdisciplinary nature of development studies, you will explore how politics can create positive or negative environments for development interventions depending on the context in which development assistance occurs, existing power and patronage structures, differential political and governance systems, as well as people’s agencies.

You will learn tools that help you understand the local development context better and link this knowledge to improved interventions and development outcomes. Focussing away from more top-down development approaches, you will explore the importance of context-sensitive approaches, participatory development, local ownership, and empowerment.