Politics of Development

Written assignment 1
Pepijn Charles Jacobus Arts
12th of September 2024
Word count: 1100

Food for thought or thoughts over food?

Recently, Development Studies saw the emergence of post-development theory, an academic
lens that challenges development in its entirety. With the intention of gaining academic insight in
post-development theory, this paper’s point of departure is Rahnema’s following statement (1997):
“Under the banner of development and progress, a tiny minority of local profiteers, supported by their
foreign ‘patrons’, set out to devastate the very foundations of social life in these countries. A merciless
war was waged against the age-old traditions of communal solidarity. The virtues of simplicity and
conviviality, of noble forms of poverty, of the wisdom of relying on each other, and of the arts of
suffering were derided as signs of ‘underdevelopment”.1 Rahnema advocates alternatives to
development, however this paper argues that post-development falls short of moving beyond the
theoretical realm and is deficient in offering viable alternatives.The first section of this paper will
investigate post-development theory, dissecting its main points of critique vis-a-vis the practice of
development. The second section critiques post-developmental thought by illuminating its failure to
deliver substantive alternatives to development and its romanticization of poverty.2 Ultimately, this
paper will illustrate how post-development thinking fits within Development Studies and how
post-development’s critical lens can be used to formulate and create participatory and transformative
practices of development.

Post-development focuses on what is lost as a result of development. Since the emergence of

development, the omnipresent notion has been that development is an inherently good (i.e. ethically
correct) process.3 Through development, conceptualised as modernisation,4 societies would escape
poverty and progress towards “desired” social, political, and economic practices. In order to advance,
societies must adopt “modern” practices, most notably the implementation of a free-market economy.5
Post-development perceives this projected linear path to a “civilised” society as a (neo)imperialist
project imposed by the Global North on the Global South. Development is utilised to cement a
client-patron relationship, which is reflected in Rahnema’s speech ‘supported by their foreign
‘patrons’’.6 Self-interest drives development, contrary to altruism.7 Rahnema understands
development as ‘merciless war’ against local political, cultural and economic practices.8
Post-development scholars find the justification of this war on and the subordination of cultures in the
discourse and knowledge of development. Development discourse allows for Western ideas and
thoughts, effectively excluding non-Western perspectives.9 This links to the practice of othering,
creating a dichotomy between Western and non-Western knowledge. The construction of a “civilised"

1
Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, The Post-Development Reader. (Zed Books Ltd, 1997), x.
2
Aram Ziai, “Post-Development 25 Years after The Development Dictionary,” Third World Quarterly
38, no. 12 (2017): 2548–2549, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26616447.
3
Martin Mowforth, The Violence of Development : Resource Depletion, Environmental Crises and
Human Rights Abuses in Central America (Pluto Press, 2014), 1.
4
Walt Whitman Rostow, “Marxism, Communism and the Stage-of-Growth,” in The Development
reader, ed. Sharad Chari and Stuart Corbridge (Routledge, 2008), 142-144.
5
John Maynard Keynes, “Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren,” in The Development reader,
ed. Sharad Chari and Stuart Corbridge (Routledge, 2008); Adam Smith, “On the Advantages which
Europe has Derived from the Discovery of America,” in The Development reader, ed. Sharad Chari
and Stuart Corbridge (Routledge, 2008).
6
Rahnema and Bawtree, The Post-Development Reader, x.
7
Emma Mawdsley, From recipients to donors: Emerging powers and the changing development
landscape (Zed Books Ltd, 2008), 24-25; Michael Edwards, “The Irrelevance of Development,” in The
Development reader, ed. Sharad Chari and Stuart Corbridge (Routledge, 2008), 305.
8
Rahnema and Bawtree, The Post-Development Reader, x.
9
Ray Kiely, “The last refuge of the noble savage? A critical assessment of post‐development theory,”
The European Journal of Development Research 11, no. 1 (1999), 33.

1
 Politics of Development
Written assignment 1
Pepijn Charles Jacobus Arts
12th of September 2024
Word count: 1100
culminates in a hierarchical order between knowledge and the classification of all “uncivilised”
knowledge as infantile and inferior.10 Development discourse has set the parameters for thought and
action, allowing developmental scholars and aid-workers to reject local knowledge and dismiss the
subjects of development.11 Consequently, development is doomed to fail as its underlying
assumptions of hierarchy between “experts” and “subjects” of development hinder participatory or
transformative processes. According to post-development, the imperialistic development project
accumulates in the destruction of local social, political and economical traditions. However, the next
section investigates the problematic understanding of local “traditions” and the lack of alternatives that
post-development offers.

As highlighted above, post-development dismisses all forms of development.

Post-development’s critiques are legitimate, however it fails to acknowledge the tangible results (e.g.
poverty alleviation and reduction in child mortality rates) that have been achieved under the banner of
development.12 The generalisation of all development disregards its heterogeneous nature and the
actors involved. Whereas post-development critiques development for offering a “one-size-fits-all
solution” (i.e. modernization), the same scholars constrain their own space for thought and action by
reducing all development to an homogenous imperialistic project. Afraid to be complicit in imperialism,
no alternative projects to alleviate the suffering of the marginalised are formulated. Rather than
seeking change, post-development theory choses to operate only in the theoretical realm and merely
stresses the power and importance of local knowledge and traditions.This abstention of offering
alternatives is observed in Rahnema’s speech.13 This brings us to the second principal critique of
post-development theory, which is the romanticization of local ways of life and more strikingly poverty
and suffering. The romanticization of poverty is observed in Rahnema’s words: ‘noble forms of
poverty’ and ‘the arts of suffering were derided as signs ‘‘underdevelopment’’.14 Rahnema takes the
position here that suffering is preferable to Western ideals of progress, however he fails to
acknowledge the deteriorating effects of poverty on the wellbeing of individuals. Rahnema, speaking
from an ivory tower, assumes that individuals in the Global South would rather live in poverty and
suffer than be included in development.15 Post-development here becomes paternalistic, assuming
that it knows what is best for the marginalised, in a similar fashion of how classical development
theory presumes Western society to be the highest form of modernity. The subjects of development
are therefore again dismissed. The next paragraph will seek to apply the post-development lens to
achieve real world change and incorporate the subjects of development.

The previous two sections shed light on post-development theory and voiced two of the main
points of critique. This section focuses on how we can move past the absolutist position of
post-development, deeming all development corrupt and imperialistic,16 in order to construct
participatory development projects that bolster the resilience, learning capacities and confidence of
local communities. The critical position of post-development towards Western development
institutions and knowledge should form the foundation of constructing new development structures.
Development agencies would no longer assume to know what is best for local communities, whereas
post-development scholars will not fall victim to paternalism by stressing the beauty in poverty and
suffering. Local and outside knowledge would be combined and geared towards the needs of the

10
Chandra Talpade Mohanty, “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses,”
Feminist Review 30 (1988): 65, https://doi.org/10.2307/1395054.
11
Edwards, “The Irrelevance of Development,” 307-310.
12
Ziai, “Post-Development 25 Years after The Development Dictionary,” 2548.
13
Rahnema and Bawtree, The Post-Development Reader, x.
14
Ibid., x.
15
Ziai, “Post-Development 25 Years after The Development Dictionary,” 2548-2549.
16
David Simon, “Separated by Common Ground? Bringing (Post)Development and (Post)Colonialism
Together,” The Geographical Journal 172, no. 1 (2006): 12–14. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4134870.

2
 Politics of Development
Written assignment 1
Pepijn Charles Jacobus Arts
12th of September 2024
Word count: 1100
community. Rather than handing (modernization) or denying (post-development) local communities
tools to develop, development would help communities create their own tools to improve their
livelihoods. This requires development agents and agencies to self-reflect and crucially listen to
“below”,17 for which post-development provides a suitable lens. The challenging and rejection of
Western assumptions can create an ethical relationship between donor and recipient from which,
rather than dismissing, bottom-up development can be constructed.

To conclude, post-development theory challenges all forms of development for its imperialistic
and elitist nature. However, post-development falls short of providing viable alternatives to
development that benefit marginalised people, focusing on academic debates and romanticising
poverty. Post-development provides academics with food for thought, where now it is time to provide
food for the Global South. Combining post-development’s critiques of Western knowledge and agency
and critical development theorists’ orientation to bottom-up approaches, the agency of subjects of
development can be forwarded. This allows communities and experts to learn from each other and
create participatory development that bolster the resilience and confidence of communities.

Bibliography

Edwards, Michael. “The Irrelevance of Development.” In The Development reader, edited by Sharad
Chari and Stuart Corbridge. Routledge, 2008.

Keynes, John Maynard. “Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren.” In The Development reader,
edited by Sharad Chari and Stuart Corbridge. Routledge, 2008.

Kiely, Ray. “The last refuge of the noble savage? A critical assessment of post‐development theory.”
The European Journal of Development Research 11, no. 1 (1999): 30-55.

Mawdsley, Emma. From recipients to donors: Emerging powers and the changing development
landscape. Zed Books Ltd, 2008.

Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses.”
Feminist Review, no. 30 (1988): 61–88. https://doi.org/10.2307/1395054.

Mowforth, Martin. The Violence of Development : Resource Depletion, Environmental Crises and
Human Rights Abuses in Central America. Pluto Press, 2014.

Rahnema, Majid, and Victoria Bawtree. The Post-Development Reader. Zed Books Ltd, 1997.

Rostow, Walt Whitman. “Marxism, Communism and the Stage-of-Growth.” in The Development
reader, edited by Sharad Chari and Stuart Corbridge. Routledge, 2008.

Simon, David. “Separated by Common Ground? Bringing (Post)Development and (Post)Colonialism

Together.” The Geographical Journal 172, no. 1 (2006): 10–21.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4134870.

Singer, H.W. “Gains between investigating and borrowing countries.” In The Development reader,
edited by Sharad Chari and Stuart Corbridge. Routledge, 2008.

17
Edwards, “The Irrelevance of Development, 308-309.

3
 Politics of Development
Written assignment 1
Pepijn Charles Jacobus Arts
12th of September 2024
Word count: 1100
Smith, Adam. “On the Advantages which Europe has Derived from the Discovery of America.” In The
Development reader, edited by Sharad Chari and Stuart Corbridge. Routledge, 2008.

Ziai, Aram. “Post-Development 25 Years after The Development Dictionary.” Third World Quarterly 38,
no. 12 (2017): 2547–2558. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26616447.