The initial session of this module serves to introduce students to the four case study countries and asks students to consider why it is that some states are deemed to be developmental success stories and others are not. Have some states been able to successfully pursue ‘growth with equity’ and why does poverty persist? The first part of the module (weeks 2-5) then focuses on the different ways in which development has been and is being pursued in the region in relation to: (a) modes of national development planning; (b) the agendas of International Financial Institutions such as the World Bank; (c) the ongoing marketization of everyday life; and, (d) gender and development agendas.
The second part of the module is more focused on specific social groupings (elites/oligarchs, middle classes, workers, women, migrants and peasants) and how they have been affected by processes associated with economic development. Have some of these groups benefitted from the way in which economic development has been pursued in the region? Do the activities of some of these groups serve to uphold or even challenge forms of development politics salient in the region?