Governance and Development

In order to fulfill the above objectives, the course broadly consists of three parts. First, we will examine three questions as a basis for discussion throughout the course: what is international development cooperation?; what is the point of tracing the history of development theories in aid policies instead of directly tackling current ‘hot’ issues?; and why should we focus upon the role of the state rather than other agencies of development on the recipient side? We then proceed to the second part of the course. Serving as a background to the issues dealt with in the third part, this part will trace a historical process of theory-policy selection in development aid. Starting from colonial experiences, we will go through the past 75 years or so of international development cooperation up to the current situation under which many agendas are in fusion. This process will help us understand why they are now on the list of international development cooperation organisations and how they relate to each other. At the end of the second part, which would also serve as a bridge between the second part and the third part, we will marshal the meanings of ‘governance’ and its relationships with other agendas. It will become clear that several important agendas converge at the concept of ‘governance’. The third part will look at the practice of ‘doing international development’ which has affected the governance of developing countries. By referring to case studies, students will be able to visualise many aspects of international development cooperation in action. In so doing, they will analyse from the cases the interactions between state and society in recipient countries and influences of donors on those interactions. All this will lead students to understand limitations of the conventional governance model on which current development aid is based. In search of a new way of looking at governance, therefore, we will also deal with cases which do not fit well with the model. Based on the insights thus obtained through various case studies, students will have a better understanding of the ways in which ‘development’ of recipient countries is governed, which will be the final topic to consider.

The course will be taught using a mixture of lectures and seminars. In a session, the lecturer will first give students a brief overview of the past sessions to contextualise the topics for the day. Then selected students will do presentations on assigned readings and lead discussions on particular topics, using prepared notes and other presentational aids. The lecturer will sum up the discussion and give students an introduction to the topics to be studied in the next session with handouts which clarify the arguments developed in the assigned readings when necessary. Students are welcome to access the lecturer if they have questions or need supervision in writing an academic essay.

The overall assessment mark for the course will be based on students’ performance in the following three main categories: general attitude in sessions; presentation on assigned readings; an academic essay of 5,000 words in English. The percentages allocated to each category will be announced in the first class. Students should feel free to select any topic for their essay as long as they tackle issues relevant to BOTH ‘governance’ AND ‘development’. Writing an academic essay will provide students with the opportunity to focus on a particular aspect of these two areas of investigation, whilst drawing on a range of literature and approaches studied throughout the course. Please note that the length of the essay is subject to change depending on the frequency of seminar presentations allocated to each student.

There is no set textbook due to the wide coverage of the issues handled in the course. Instead, required and additional readings will be listed in the handouts for the relevant sessions.

The following will be of use for students who are interested in the themes of the course: Andrews, Matt (2013) The Limits of Institutional Reform in Development: Changing Rules for Realistic Solutions, New York: Cambridge University Press. Andrews, Matt, Lant Pritchett and Michael Woolcock (2017) Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis and Action, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bazbauers, Adrian Robert (2017) The World Bank and Transferring Development: Policy Movement through Technical Assistance, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Burnell, Peter, Lise Rakner and Vicky Randall eds. (2017) Politics in the Developing World, 5th edition, Oxford: Oxford Univ Press. Carmody, Pádraig (2019) Development Theory and Practice in a Changing World, London: Routledge. Carothers, Thomas and Diane de Gramont (2013) Development Aid Confronts Politics: The Almost Revolution, Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Centre for the Future State (2010) An Upside Down View of Governance, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. Chang, Ha-Joon (2002) Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective, London: Anthem Press. de Haan, Arjan (2023) How the Aid Industry Works: An Introduction to International Development, 2nd ed., Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Jing, Yijia, Alvaro Mendez, Yu Zheng eds. (2020) New Development Assistance: Emerging Economies and the New Landscape of Development Assistance, Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. Kharas, Homi, Koji Makino and Woojin Jung eds. (2011) Catalyzing Development: A New Vision for AID (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Pres). Harrison, Graham (2010) Neoliberal Africa: The Impact of Global Social Engineering, London: Zed Books. Mawuko-Yevugah, Lord (2016) Reinventing Development: Aid Reform and Technologies of Governance in Ghana, London: Routledge. Ramalingam, Ben (2013) AID on the Edge of Chaos: Rethinking International Cooperation in a Complex World, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Overton, John and Warwick Murray (2021) Aid and Development, Oxon: Routledge. Scott, Caitlin (2023) The Project in International Development, Oxon: Routledge. Sundaram, Jomo Kwame and Anis Chowdhury eds. (2012) Is Good Governance Good for Development?, London: Bloomsbury Publishing/United Nations Publications. World Bank (2017) World Development Report 2017: Governance and the Law, Washington, D.C.: World Bank. Please note that in the course the above texts will not necessary be used.

English is the mode of communication in the course. Therefore students wishing to take the course must have a good command of the language.