Debating Development Discourse

This text combines critical historical analysis and case studies of the theory and practice of post-1945 international development. The book begins with a Gramscian analysis of institutional and academic development discourse and continues with critiques of international institutions' current neo-liberal economic and "governance" practices. This is followed by studies of African moral opposition to structural adjustment's "scientific capitalism", South African housing struggles, Zimbabwean development strategies, Costa Rican agrarian NGOs, and northern Albertan public environmental hearings. Throughout, the text advocates deepening radical and popular participatory democracy.