Anthropology and Development

Western aid is in decline. Non-traditional development actors from the developing countries and elsewhere are in the ascendant. A new set of global economic and political processes are shaping the twenty-first century. This book engages with nearly two decades of continuity and change in the development industry. In particular, it argues that while the world of international development has expanded since the 1990s, it has become more rigidly technocratic. The authors insist on a focus upon the core anthropological issues surrounding poverty and inequality, and thus sharply criticise what are perceived as problems in the field. Anthropology and Development is a completely rewritten edition of the best-selling and critically acclaimed Anthropology, Development and the Post-Modern Challenge (1996). It serves as both an innovative reformulation of the field, as well as a textbook for many undergraduate and graduate courses at leading international universities.

A critical look at how a non-traditional, technocratic development industry is failing the societies it professes to help

Preface Acknowledgements Glossary Acronyms Prelude: Development, Post-Development and ... More Development? 1: Understanding Development: Theory and Practice into the Twenty-First Century 2: Applying Anthropology 3: The Anthropology of Development 4: Anthropologists in Development: Access, Effects and Control 5: When Good Ideas Turn Bad: The Dominant Discourse Bites Back Conclusion: Anthropology, Development and Twenty-First Century Challenges Notes and references Bibliography Index