Introduction course 1
Introduction, Smallman & Brown (CH1, 1-9)
A global citizen possesses six capacities of mind:
1. The ability to observe oneself and the world around one
2. The ability to make comparisons and contrasts
3. The ability to ‘see’ plurally as a result
4. The ability to understand that both ‘reality’ and language come in versions
5. The ability to see power relations and understand them systemically
6. The ability to balance awareness of one’s own realities with the realities of entities outside of
the perceived self
You are living in what Pratt terms a “contact zone”, that is, your ideas come in contact with other
people and have other ideas all the time. In order to negotiate this space, you have to be able to
“imaginatively step into the world view of the other”. A global perspective changes not just what you
think, but what you do.
The comprehensive set of skills and understandings what it means to be a global citizen (Howard
Gardner)
1. Understanding of the global system
2. Capacity to think analytically and creatively within disciplines
3. Ability to tackle problems and issues that do not respect disciplinary boundaries
4. Knowledge of and ability to interact civilly and productively with individuals from quite
different cultural backgrounds – both within one’s own society and across the planet
5. Knowledge of and respect for one’s own cultural traditions
6. Fostering of hybrid or blended identities
7. Fostering of tolerance
What do we mean by development? Willis (CH1, 1-36)
Millennium Development Goals
1. eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. achieve universal primary education
3. promote gender equality and empower women
4. reduce child mortality
5. improve maternal health
6. combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. ensure environmental sustainability
8. develop a global partnership for development
Global: relating to the whole world; worldwide.
Development: a specified state of growth or advancement.
Issue: an important topic or problem for debate or discussion.
It depends on the indicators you choose to study how the level of development in a country is being
valued. The more indicators you choose, the more ‘valid’ is your outcome.
,What does development mean?
- is not a value-free concept; people in different parts of the world, and throughout different times,
have different ideas about development.
- development is change
- development is the creation of conditions that enable people to improve themselves and their
situations
- development is the reduction of poverty and inequality
For many people, ideas of development are linked to concepts of modernity. ‘Modernity’ in its
broadest sense means the condition of being modern, new or up-to-date, so ‘the idea of “modernity”
situates people in time’ (Ogborn 2005: 339). Because of social, economic, political and cultural
dynamism, what is ‘modern’ will change over time and also spatially. What is ‘modern’ in one place
may be ‘old-fashioned’ elsewhere.
What does underdevelopment mean?
- underdevelopment is not a value free concept either
- underdevelopment is (relative) decline
- underdevelopment is the creation of dependence (of other nations)
- underdevelopment is visible via poverty and inequality
Historical political context how they see
development
• ’40/50: Modernisation (copying the ‘Western’
model)
• ’60/70: Getting rid of dependency relations, import
subtitution, redistribution of resources and power
• ‘80: Neoliberal freedoms, free market, self-
reliance
• ‘90: Focus on the quality of life, pro-poor-growth
•2000: Sustainability & good governance
Different ways to measure development:
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): This measures the
value of all goods and services produced within a
particular country. It does not matter whether the
individuals or companies profiting from this
production are national or foreign.
,Gross National Product (GNP): This measures the value of all goods and services claimed by
residents of a particular country regardless of where the production took place. It is, therefore, GDP
plus the income accruing from abroad (such as repatriation of profits) minus the income claimed by
people overseas.
Gross National Income (GNI): This is an alternative name for GNP. The World Bank now refers to GNI
rather than GNP in its annual World Development Report
Why measure development with wealth The use of a wealth measure to represent development is
regarded as appropriate because it is assumed that with greater wealth come other benefits such as
improved health, education and quality of life.
Human Development Index (HDI): This measure incorporates
three dimensions of development in relation to human well-
being: a long and healthy life, education and knowledge, and a
decent standard of living.
Gini coefficient: This measure varies from 0, which means
perfect equality, to 1 which represents perfect inequality.
Gini index: This measure, used by the UNDP, ranges from 0 to
100. A figure of 0 means perfect equality and 100 means
perfect inequality
Problems with measuring global development:
- Because of the different conceptions of development and the range of scales at which it can be
considered, measuring ‘development’ requires proxies.
- Another problem with measuring development is comparability. This can be over time, or between
different countries. Collecting large amounts of information, for example through national censuses,
requires significant resources in terms of trained personnel and technology for analysing the results.
These are clearly not equally available to all national governments (Bulmer and Warwick 1993). In
addition, data collection can be disrupted by political unrest or war, and some communities or
groups may be excluded from surveys and other studies because they are socially, economically or
geographically marginal (Chambers 1997).
- Finally, development measures are nearly always quantitative, i.e. they can be expressed in
numerical form. This focus is understandable given the need to make comparisons across time and
space, and also to deal with large amounts of information. However, by focusing on quantitative
measurement, the subjective qualitative dimensions of development are excluded. This means
excluding the feelings, experiences and opinions of individuals and groups. This approach also tends
to reinforce outsiders’ ideas about ‘development’, rather than what local people think ‘development’
is, or should be (Chapter 4)
A key sub-national pattern of spatial inequality is between rural and urban areas. If we consider
indicators of economic and social well-being, there seems to be a clear trend of rural–urban
inequality with rural populations generally being worse off than their urban counterparts (Table 1.2).
However, such distinctions must be treated with caution (Wratten 1995).
, - First, poverty indicators are notoriously problematic. For example, in a rural area monetary income
may be lower than in the towns and cities, but the cost of living is lower and the availability of food
from subsistence farming may help save on food costs.
- Second, the distinctions between rural and urban areas are never as distinct as statistics may imply.
In most parts of the world, the linkages between rural and urban areas are multiple, with significant
seasonal migration flows between the countryside and the city (Frayne 2010; Lynch 2005; Tacoli
2006). As cities have grown, the role of the peri-urban area has also become more important for food
production and employment opportunities (McGregor et al. 2006).
- Finally, it must be remembered, that in some regions of the Global South, particularly Latin America
and the Caribbean, the population is predominantly urban (Figure 1.3). Thus, while poverty levels
may be higher in rural areas, poverty is increasingly an urban phenomenon because the majority of
the population is urban (UN-Habitat 2010).
Eurocentrism: It refers to the assumption that European or Western ideas are the only ideas or
approaches that are important.
Colonialism (Bernstein): ‘the political control of peoples and territories by foreign states, whether
accompanied by significant permanent settlement . . . or not’. This political control represents global
power differentials and is associated with dominance in other spheres such as the economy and
cultural practices.
Three main reasons for discussing colonialism in the context of development theory can be
identified.
1. From the middle of the sixteenth century onwards, European colonialism created more and
more linkages between different parts of the world. As we shall see throughout the
remainder of the book, interactions at a global scale and the bonds between different
regions and countries are referred to in a range of ways in a number of development
theories. While the linkages between different parts of the world cannot be solely attributed
to the operation of colonialism, it was a key element in developing the basis for what we now
call ‘globalization’
2. A second important reason for considering colonialism in a book on development theories is
the nature of power relations embedded in colonial processes. The expansion of European
political, economic and social control over other parts of the world represented the greater
power held by these nations. In some development theories, these power inequalities
between North and South help explain differential development experiences, with
colonialism bringing beneficial changes to Northern countries, at the expense of those in the
South. It is argued that these inequalities also continue to limit the autonomy of Southern
countries and peoples to determine their own futures through processes of what has been
termed ‘neo-colonialism’.
Neo-colonialism: This term is used to describe global relationships which reflect the dominance
of the North over the South, despite legal independence.
3. Finally, the colonial experience varied across the world, depending on the colonial power,
pre-existing social, economic and political structures in the colony, and the timing of the
colonial encounter (Bernstein 2000). Whatever the experience, it is clear that colonialism
