Politics of the Developing World

INTRODUCTION:

This course deals with the politics of development from a comparative perspective. We will be addressing development issues across different points in time and across different world regions. Two main topics/concepts will be analyzed throughout the semester: development and the state. We will study Latin America, Africa, and Asia, which form part of what is known as the developing world or Third World, which in fact we will challenge this labeling. We will as well present a comparative overview of the Latin American, African, and Asian regions in general; and address and familiarize ourselves with the debates surrounding the virtues & vices of market economies (and globalization); and the role and relevance of ontological thinking for the purpose of understanding and explaining social reality will be a common intellectual thread throughout the semester. A cultural component, (films, related to development politics), will be part of this course.

REQUIREMENTS:

     - Fluent in English

CONTENTS:

     - Politics of development

     - Conceptualizing development, democracy, the state, globalization

     - Development policies and the developing world

     - Development in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia

     - Regions in comparative perspective: The Developing World?

     - Post-Keynes’ Debates

     - State, development, and other concerns