In this special event to mark the culmination of Melissa Leach’s tenure as Director of IDS, a panel of experts will debate the future of development and development studies, offering their thoughts on where development has come in the last 10 years and crucially, where it might be headed.
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Speakers
- Ernest Aryeetey, Secretary-General of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA)
- Melissa Leach, Director, Institute of Development Studies
- Naomi Hossain, Professor of Development Studies, SOAS University of London
- Deepak Nayyar, Chair, Institute of Development Studies
- Ian Scoones, Professorial Fellow, Institute of Development Studies
- Isatou Touray, Executive Director, GAMCOTRAP
Chair
Peter Taylor, Director of Research, Institute of Development Studies.
About the event
Development, and by extension development studies, is undergoing an identity crisis.
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed flaws in the long-dominant development models pushed by the global North, especially those that have spread through neoliberalism, capitalism and globalisation.
With the legacy of the pandemic combining with environmental, conflict and economic issues in ways that some characterise as polycrisis, the question continues to be asked: how can development help tackle these complex, global, issues?
One potential way forward is to adopt a global development, or universalist framework. Whilst development has traditionally been based on a flow of assistance from global North to global South, recent crises such as Covid-19, the climate emergency, and growing inequalities caused by capitalism hint at something different. They point to the need for a more nuanced model that recognises the existence of aspects of marginalisation in all countries, and of the potential for mutual learning, solidarities and alliances to form in ways that cross-cut, complicate, and possibly negate, the old model of ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ nations.
Another way forward is to be bolder in challenging mainstream development approaches and institutions and in highlighting alternatives. These include perspectives and pathways that emerge from people’s diverse lived experiences, offering ideas and routes to achieve justice, thrive amidst uncertainty, live well with non-human natures, and more – from which the whole world might learn.
Underneath these issues is the question of power. Power is often the reason why structural inequalities persist. Unequal power relations are pervasive, applying within and between countries and regions in ways that sometimes take shape along North-South axes, but also intersect them. Power and politics can block development and underpin problematic approaches, but can also support alternatives to emerge. When millions of dollars are spent on development without addressing the underlying power dynamics, that investment risks failure. Can a refocusing on power enable development to become more effective, part of much-needed transformations, and if so, how?
How to attend
This event has now sold out to attend in person. However you can still register to watch online below.
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Accessibility
This event will take part in the IDS Convening Space. If you need to use the lift then press 1A, the Convening Space is on the 1st floor of the IDS Building. If you have any accessibility needs please email: [email protected]
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