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Post-Development
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The post‐development school associated with the thought of Arturo Escobar treats development as a discursive invention of the West, best countered by ethnographic attention to local knowledge of people marginalised by colonial modernity. This approach promises paths to more equitable and sustainable alternatives to development. Post‐development has been criticised vigorously in the past. But despite its conceptual and political shortcomings, it remains the most popular critical approach to development and is reemerging in decolonial and pluriversal guises. This paper contends that the post‐development critique of mainstream development has run its course and deserves a fresh round of criticism. We argue that those committed to struggles for social justice must critically reassess the premises of post‐development and especially wrestle with the problem of representation. We contend that Gayatri Spivak's work is particularly important to this project. We review some of Spivak's key texts on capitalism, difference, and development to clarify the virtues of her approach.
Seit nunmehr einem Vierteljahrhundert geht unter dem Namen „post-development“ ein Gespenst in der Entwicklungstheorie um. Während die klassischen post-development-Texte ihren Fokus primär auf Mexiko, Kolumbien und Indien richteten und die neuere Debatte um buen vivir v.a. Ecuador und Bolivien in den Blick nahm (siehe auch PERIPHERIE Nr. 149), lassen sich alternative, auf nichtwestliche Traditionen Bezug nehmende Vorstellungen einer guten Gesellschaft auch in zahlreichen anderen Ländern finden. Zwei davon möchten wir in unserem Beitrag genauer betrachten. Allerdings möchten wir im Unterschied zu den klassischen Beispielen Fälle untersuchen, in denen die Alternativkonzepte nicht von oft als links angesehenen Basisbewegungen, sondern von politisch rechts stehenden Regierungen vertreten werden: in Thailand und im Iran. Diese Fallauswahl scheint zu der These zu passen, dass post-development letztlich ein reaktionäres, rückwärtsgewandtes Konzept sei. Dieser These möchten wir widersprechen. Unsere Zielsetzung im vorliegende Beitrag ist es, die Instrumentalisierung antiwestlicher, entwicklungskritischer Konzepte in den untersuchten Ländern durch reaktionäre Regierungen zu analysieren, ohne ihren emanzipatorischen Gehalt zu übersehen – letztlich zielen wir auf eine Rehabilitierung von vermeintlich rückwärtsgewandten post-development-Konzepten ab.
The increasing realisation that there are modern problems for which there are no modern solutions points towards the need to move beyond the paradigm of modernity and, hence, beyond the Third World. Imagining after the Third World takes place against the backdrop of two major processes: First, the rise of a new US-based form of imperial globality, an economic-military- ideological order that subordinates regions, peoples and economies world-wide. Imperial globality has its underside in what could be called, following a group of Latin American researchers, global coloniality, meaning by this the heightened marginalisation and suppression of the knowledge and culture of subaltern groups. The second social process is the emergence of self-organising social movement networks, which operate under a new logic, fostering forms of counter-hegemonic globalisation. It is argued that, to the extent that they engage with the politics of difference, particularly through place-based yet transnationalised political strategies, these movements represent the best hope for reworking imperial globality and global coloniality in ways that make imagining after the Third World, and beyond modernity, a viable project.
Along with 'anti-development' and 'beyond development', post-development is a radical reaction to the dilemmas of development. Post-development focuses on the underlying premises and motives of development; what sets it apart from other critical approaches is that it rejects development. The question is whether this is a tenable and fruitful position. Taken up first in this article are major overt positions of post-development-the problematisation of poverty, the portrayal of development as Westernisation, and the critique of modernism and science. The argument then turns to discourse analysis of development; it is argued that, in post-development, discourse analysis from a methodology turns into an ideology. Next the difference between alternative development and 'alternatives to development' is examined. The reasons why this difference is made out to be so large are, in my interpretation, anti-managerialism and dichotomic thinking. The article closes with a discussion of the politics of post-development and a critical assessment.
The alternative approaches to development considered are alternative development, emerging from 'another development' in the 1970s, and the more recent position of 'post development', or alternatives to development. Alternative development has been concerned with redefining the goals of development and with introducing alternative practices of development - participatory and people- centred. Post-development is interpreted as a neotraditionalist reaction against modernity. More enablig as a perspective, it is argued, is reflexive development, in which critique of science is viewed as part of development politics.
Postcolonial critique reveals the Eurocentrism of discourses and practices surrounding ‘development’. This volume opens up perspectives on combating global inequality beyond a Eurocentric world view. The authors analyse the colonial continuities of current development cooperation, explore decolonial strategies in research and practice, and outline alternatives in terms of post-development. Julia Schöneberg is a research assistant at the University of Kassel on the DFG project ‘Theorizing Post-Development. Towards a reinvention of development theory’. Aram Ziai is head of the Department of Development Policy and Postcolonial Studies at the University of Kassel. With contributions by Frauke Banse, Anne-Katharina Wittmann, Albert Denk, Esther Kronsbein, Christine Klapeer, Julia Plessing, Meike Strehl, Julia Schöneberg, Gabriela Monteiro und Ruth Steuerwald, Fiona Faye, Jacqueline Krause and Joshua KwesiAikins.
Few books in the history of development studies have had an impact like The Development Dictionary – A Guide to Knowledge as Power, which was edited by Wolfgang Sachs and published by Zed Books in 1992, and which was crucial in establishing what has become known as the Post-Development (PD) school. This special issue is devoted to the legacy of this book and thus to discussing PD.
Gustavo Esteva looks at how in the 1980s growing ideological and political autonomy became a matter of intense concern for Latin American people. He argues that we must be careful that the new found spirit of the people's movements is not harnessed against them in a "capturing" of their concerns under an official umbrella of "sustainable development".
How did the industrialized nations of North America and Europe come to be seen as the appropriate models for post-World War II societies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America? How did the postwar discourse on development actually create the so-called Third World? And what will happen when development ideology collapses? To answer these questions, Arturo Escobar shows how development policies became mechanisms of control that were just as pervasive and effective as their colonial counterparts. The development apparatus generated categories powerful enough to shape the thinking even of its occasional critics while poverty and hunger became widespread. "Development" was not even partially "deconstructed" until the 1980s, when new tools for analyzing the representation of social reality were applied to specific "Third World" cases. Here Escobar deploys these new techniques in a provocative analysis of development discourse and practice in general, concluding with a discussion of alternative visions for a postdevelopment era. Escobar emphasizes the role of economists in development discourse--his case study of Colombia demonstrates that the economization of food resulted in ambitious plans, and more hunger. To depict the production of knowledge and power in other development fields, the author shows how peasants, women, and nature became objects of knowledge and targets of power under the "gaze of experts." In a substantial new introduction, Escobar reviews debates on globalization and postdevelopment since the book's original publication in 1995 and argues that the concept of postdevelopment needs to be redefined to meet today's significantly new conditions. He then calls for the development of a field of "pluriversal studies," which he illustrates with examples from recent Latin American movements. © 1995 by Princeton University Press. 1995 by Princeton University Press.
Post-development studies of social movements are creating exciting new spaces for us to imagine alternative futures for our world. Yet, debate exists as to whether or not certain movements can be properly termed 'post-development' due to their varying ideologies, especially concerning autonomy from the state. This essay addresses the forms that two land rights organizations in South Africa have taken due to their various historical encounters with the modernist development project. This essay demonstrates that even neighbouring ethnic groups in South Africa have had radically different historical experiences and thus use different means to obtain land and create a sense of place and identity. By examining the historical factors that have led to the social movements of today, we can more deeply understand the varying forces in 'post-development' movements as a whole. RÉSUMÉ – Les études de l'après-développement des mouvements sociaux créent des espaces excitants afin d'imaginer de futures alternatives pour notre monde. Cependant, des polémiques existent à l'effet que certains mouvements puissent ou ne puissent pas être proprement qualifié d' « après-développement » considérant leurs idéologies variées, spécialement quant à leur autonomie de l'État. Cet essai abordera les formes que deux organisations de défense des droits territoriaux d'Afrique du Sud ont prises considérant leurs rencontres historiques distinctes avec le projet de développement moderniste. Cet essai démontre que même des groupes ethniques voisins en Afrique du Sud ont eu des expériences historiques radicalement différentes et, par conséquent, utilisent différents moyens pour obtenir des terres et créer un sens de l'espace et de l'identité. En examinant les facteurs historiques qui ont menés aux mouvements sociaux d'aujourd'hui, nous pouvons comprendre plus clairement les différentes forces à l'oeuvre dans le mouvement de l'après-développement dans son ensemble.
Social mobilizations that are devoted to contesting development and creating alternative economic arrangements conducive to the pursuit of a dignified life have recently sprung up. Not only do they criticize the current state of affairs but they actively seek and experience new ways of living, inspired by what Bloch calls the anticipatory consciousness of the not-yet-become, that is, another reality not yet materialized but which can be already experienced. This article argues that these mobilizations are not adequately captured by the term social movements. The uniqueness of these mobilizations requires a conceptual and epistemological turn that is able to accommodate the post-development critique of development as well as their emancipatory dimension. We propose to name them hope movements to account for the collective action directed to anticipate, imperfectly, alternative realities that arise from the openness of the present one. We conclude by discussing the political relevance of hope movements for the pursuit of the good life as an alternative to development.
Zusammenfassung??Die von der deutschsprachigen Entwicklungstheorie kaum beachtete Post-Development-Kritik formuliert eine fundamentale Kritik an Projekt, Konstrukt und Begriff der ?Entwicklung?. In der Rezeption herrscht weitgehende Einigkeit ?ber die theoretische Einordnung der Texte als an Foucault angelehnte Diskursanalysen sowie ?ber bestimmte ?Standardvorw?rfe?. Eine n?here Betrachtung offenbart jedoch erstens, dass Post-Development mehr Gemeinsamkeiten mit einer traditionellen Ideologiekritik als mit einer poststrukturalistischen Diskursanalyse aufweist, und zweitens, dass man streng genommen zwei Varianten des Post-Development unterscheiden muss: eine neopopulistische mit potenziell reaktion?ren politischen Konsequenzen und eine skeptische, die sich ?postmoderner? Theorieelemente bedient, eine gro?e Schnittmenge mit postmarxistischen und radikaldemokratischen Ans?tzen aufweist und ein emanzipatives Projekt formuliert.
The most ostensibly radical response to the crisis in development theory has been to reject outright the idea of development. Theories of post‐development argue that all ideas of development imply the exercise of power over subject peoples in the so‐called Third World. Some writers argue that the idea of development therefore constitutes a new form of colonialism. This article questions such views, by suggesting that not all theories of development can be tarred with the same brush. Post‐development theory is guilty of homogenising the idea of development, thereby conflating all theories of development with the outmoded (and long discredited) theory of modernisation. Moreover, post‐development theory is reluctant to suggest concrete political alternatives, arguing the post‐structuralist position that to do so implies ‘capture’ by the development discourse. But this view similarly homogenises the development discourse, and leads to an alternative politics that uncritically celebrates resistance without analysing its differing political implications. When more concrete alternatives are suggested (as for example by ecofeminism), the result is an uncritical, romantic celebration of the local which can have reactionary political implications. Finally, an alternative, dialectical approach is suggested, which seeks to combine deconstruction with reconstruction, and which stresses the contradictory unity of development.
The post‐development critique of development discourse has by now been widely discussed and criticised. Post‐development texts have been interpreted as a cynical legitimation of neoliberalism or a futile romanticisation of premodern times; more sympathetic critics have at least acknowledged its potential to criticise the shortcomings of development theory and policy. There is, however, widespread agreement on the assumptions that post‐development can be seen as a Foucaultian critique of development and that it forms a sort of theoretical school. This article is concerned with challenging these assumptions by showing that 1) post‐development only employs (if at all) a rather impoverished version of Foucault's discourse analysis; 2) there are in fact two variants to be found under the heading post‐development—a sceptical and a neo‐populist one—and most of the criticisms are only valid for the latter. Whereas neo‐populist post‐development has reactionary political consequences, sceptical post‐development uses elements of postmodern and post‐Marxist theory and can best be described as a manifesto of radical democracy in the field of development studies. For scholars interested in emancipation, the point is to identify the crucial differences between post‐development sliding into (sometimes reactionary) neo‐populism and post‐development converging with theories of radical democracy.
Gustavo Esteva describes new institutional arrangements in Latin America, created from the bottom-up by social movements. He argues that there is an interesting new set of processes emerging as peasants’ struggle for land as territorial defence is generating sovereign practices and autonomous areas. The reclaiming and regenerating of old commons is creating new commons and reorganizing society from the bottom-up. This is leading to a radical pluralism, avoiding both conventional universalism and cultural relativism beyond the political horizon of the nation-state. In this way the struggle to improve representative democracy and promote participatory democracy is shifting to radical democracy and to a redefinition of the good life, the buen vivir, through new institutional arrangements beyond development itself.
The notion and practice of development have been severely critiqued from both modernist and postmodernist perspectives, yet the global development industry flourishes. The latter have afforded important insights, but also suffer from unexamined ideological agendas, a disinclination to undertake detailed research into development processes and policy, a preoccupation with texts and representations by the development industry, and from perpetuating an indulgent and agenda-less academic cul-de-sac. Instead, the postmodern critique of development could lead to a more politically astute and practical reconstruction of certain aspects of 'development', particularly in the neopopulist mode of developmentalism. Three powerful development paradigms are identified, and the ways in which they are constructed, promoted, and adapted are discussed in the light of conflicting modernist and postmodern accounts.
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