Critique, Rediscovery and Revival in Development Studies

Arsel, Murat; Dasgupta, Anirban

doi:10.1111/dech.12183

Cited by 30 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Our analysis also contributes to a larger debate regarding the future relevance of development studies. As Arsel and Dasgupta (: 646) argue, development studies scholars have ‘shied away from making broad, structural claims about development’, to the point that the field now consists of ‘hard‐hitting yet sterile, repetitive and aprioristic critiques of neoliberal capitalism that document the plight of the poor and marginalized in the developing world, unwilling and unable to articulate a constructive agenda for development’. We respond to this call by moving beyond a critique of the evils of neoliberal change to show that critical responses that remobilize the state against neoliberal onslaughts can also produce and exacerbate the same effects.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smallholder Adaptation to Drought in Costa Rica's Crony Capitalist Rice Economy

Warner¹,

Childers²,

Kuzdas³

et al. 2018

Development and Change

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This article advances theoretical understanding of exclusionary politics in rural locations through an institutional analysis of adaptation to climate change in Costa Rica's rice economy. It describes how crony capitalism evolved in state-sponsored rural development as the national economy moved towards a new neoliberal model. Cronies reorganized rice production and re-appropriated capital flows. As smallholder farmers were marginalized in the rice economy, their reliance on the state for irrigation water made them vulnerable to drought. As the state adapted its water allocation scheme to drought conditions, it determined who would profit and who would lose their livelihood. The authors use this analysis to argue that climate change adaptation is a normative process that may be used to justify coercion and control of specific classes of people. To understand this process, current adaptation frames must be broadened to include the organization of production and the appropriation and realization of capital flows. This broadening facilitates an understanding of how climate change adaptation strategies produce stratified class structures; some classes are made vulnerable to climate change while others profit. Breaking with the common refrain in much of the critical literature on neoliberal development, the authors argue that state responses to neoliberal change -not just neoliberal change itself -must be increasingly incorporated into critical development studies of rural transformations.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smallholder Adaptation to Drought in Costa Rica's Crony Capitalist Rice Economy

Warner¹,

Childers²,

Kuzdas³

et al. 2018

Development and Change

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show abstract

“…However, this is precisely my point: we cannot explain and conceptualize ‘development’ simply with reference to something else — in the case of Horner and Hulme, a general reference to certain geographies or statistics of development. As Arsel and Dasgupta (: 646) remark, what is required is ‘actually working out and empirically articulating the political economy relationships at work at a systemic level’. Through this, we can start to understand uneven development patterns at a deeper level and why they are occurring in relation to specific historical dynamics (Büscher, ).…”

Section: The Meaning Of (The Geography Of) Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

From ‘Global’ to ‘Revolutionary’ Development

Büscher¹

2019

Development and Change

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This article argues that Horner and Hulme's call for moving towards ‘global development’ to do justice to changing 21st century development geographies neither contributes to advancing our understanding of contemporary development challenges nor helps articulate realistic responses to tackle them. A key problem is that they try to explain several general trends in the geography of development with reference to mainstream statistics without appropriate critical reflection or adequate theorization. Focusing specifically on the environmental and conservation aspects of development, this article contends that these omissions not only confuse the debate on the current state and geographies of development, they risk something more serious, namely the reinforcement of a generic development narrative which will intensify 21st century development challenges. The article concludes that what we need is not global development but revolutionary development.

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“…It is for this reason that contentious action such as those covered in our database are often referred to as "ecological distribution conflicts" and part of the global "environmental justice movement" (Martínez-Alier et al, 2016). Second, a class-based reading of "brown" cases challenges dominant readings of the connection between identity and environmentalism (Arsel & Dasgupta, 2015). More specifically, the dominant approach in the literature, despite oft-repeated disavowals of the trope of the "noble savage", has been reluctant to let go of the (often unspoken) expectation that indigenous and other local communities remain as the last barrier between nature and a rapacious global capital that can only perceive the Amazon through the lens of a profit motive, reducing all wealth to cash value.…”

Section: Brown Motives and "Environmental" Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oil and Conflict in the Ecuadorian Amazon: An Exploration of Motives and Objectives

Pellegrini

Arsel

2018

ERLACS

Self Cite

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This exploration piece challenges the dominant reading of oil-related social conflicts through an environmental prism. Through a methodological intervention that classifies conflicts as 'brown' (concerning primarily the distribution and investment of economic rents) or 'green' (demanding ecological remediation, improved extraction practices, or cessation of oil extraction altogether), it analyses a database of oil related conflicts in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon. The region is particularly suitable for such a study not only because oil extraction has a long history there but also because the resulting conflagration has been well-documented. Building on the finding that twenty-two of the thirty-six cases that could be classified along this dichotomous divide are "brown", the article problematizes the extant scholarly literatures' conceptualization and discusses the potential analytical benefits of recognizing that some movements might be motivated primarily by concerns that are not necessarily environmental. A more thorough recognition of the motives underpinning contentious action concerning extractive industries is also a prerequisite for understanding the policy influence of social mobilization. Keywords: conflict, hydrocarbons, extractivism, indigenous people, environmental justice.Resumen: Petróleo y conflicto en el Amazonas ecuatoriano: Una exploración de motivos y objetivos La presente exploración desafía la lectura dominante de los conflictos sociales relacionados con el petróleo a través de un prisma ambiental. Mediante una intervención metodológica que clasifica los conflictos como "marrón" (principalmente en relación con la distribución y la inversión de las rentas económicas) o "verde" (que exigen reparación ecológica, prácticas de extracción mejoradas o el cese de la extracción de petróleo en su totalidad), se analiza una base de datos de petróleo relacionada con los conflictos en el norte de la amazonia ecuatoriana. La región es particularmente adecuada para un estudio de este tipo, no solo porque la 210 | ERLACS No. 106 (2018): July-December extracción de petróleo tiene una larga historia, sino también porque la conflagración resultante está bien documentada. Sobre la base del hallazgo de que veintidós de los treinta y seis casos, que podrían clasificarse a lo largo de esta división dicotómica, son "marrones", el artículo problematiza la conceptualización de la literatura académica existentes y discute los posibles beneficios analíticos de reconocer que algunos movimientos pueden estar motivados principalmente por preocupaciones que no son necesariamente ambientales. Un reconocimiento más profundo de los motivos que sustentan la acción contenciosa sobre las industrias extractivas también es un requisito previo para comprender la influencia política de la movilización social. Palabras clave: conflicto, hidrocarbonos, extractivismo, indígenas, justicia medioambiental.

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Critique, Rediscovery and Revival in Development Studies

Cited by 30 publications

References 49 publications

Smallholder Adaptation to Drought in Costa Rica's Crony Capitalist Rice Economy

Smallholder Adaptation to Drought in Costa Rica's Crony Capitalist Rice Economy

From ‘Global’ to ‘Revolutionary’ Development

Oil and Conflict in the Ecuadorian Amazon: An Exploration of Motives and Objectives

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