International development: Read and reflect

Understanding "what works" (Dan Banik)

Related readings:

For learners who are interested in delving deeper into the discussions of development and whether interventions work, Prof. Banik recommends the following resources:

• "The success stories of 2019 from across the world" (The Guardian, 31 Dec. 2019).
• Maxwell, S. (2017) “What works in international development?” (Blog).
• "10 things to know about progress in international development", Overseas Development Institute (2016).
• Fosu, A. (2013) “Achieving development success” UNU-WIDER Policy Brief.
• Banik, D. (2010) Poverty and elusive development, Oslo: Scandinavian University Press (Open access book).
• de Haan, A. (2009) “Aid: The drama, the fiction, and does it work?”, ISS Working Paper.

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• Please respond to Prof. Banik’s talk on defining “success” and how we can better understand the impact of “promising practices” in development. Do you agree with these indicators of success?
• What does “success” in international development mean to you?

Dimensions of development (Francis Fukuyama)

Related readings:

You can learn more about the dimensions of development in the following resources:

• Fukuyama, F. (2012) The origins of political order: From prehuman times to the French Revolution, New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux (Excerpt available here).
• Fukuyama, F. & Marwah, S. (2000) “Comparing East Asia and Latin America: Dimensions of development”, Journal of Democracy.

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• Do you agree with the framework laid out in Prof. Fukuyama's lecture,  and how the components of development relate to each other (positively or negatively)?
• Is there a dimension you would choose to focus development (or aid) on, and why? 

State building (Stephen Krasner)

Related readings:

For those interested in learning more about state building and development theories, Prof. Krasner recommends the following readings:

• Fukuyama, F. (2012) The origins of political order: From prehuman times to the French Revolution, New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Chapters 1, 3, 5, 7, 16 (Excerpt available here).
• Acemoglu, D. and Robinson, J. (2011). Why nations fail, New York: Crown Publishers. Chapters 2-5, & 15 (Preface to the book available here).
• Lipset, S.M. (1959) “Some social requisites of democracy”, American Political Science Review, 53.
• Boix, C. (2011) “Democracy, development, and the international system”, American Political Science Review, 105(4).
• Inglehart, R. and Welzel, C. (2009) “How development leads to democracy”, Foreign Affairs, 88(2) (Access requires log-in).

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• Professor Krasner makes the case that foreign aid for state building, with a focus on rule of law and democracy promotion programs, has limited impact. It is only useful under certain circumstances. Do you agree with Prof. Krasner’s recommendations?

• Think about a recent region of the world that has encountered difficulties with state building and governance (e.g. Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.) or another place you have experience with. How would you handle aid programs related to governance in these contexts?

Gender equality (Alice Evans)

Related readings:

For learners who are interested in engaging further with discussions on gender equality, Dr. Evans recommends the following resources:

• Beaman, L.; Duflo, E.; Pande, R.; Topalova, P. (2012) “Female leadership raises aspirations and educational attainment for girls: A policy experiment in India”, Science 335 (Access requires log-in).
• Evans, A. (2017) “Cities as catalysts of gendered social change? Reflections from Zambia”, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 108 (Access requires log-in, but a short blog is available here).
• Evans, A. (2016) “The Decline of the male breadwinner and persistence of the female carer: Exposure, interests and micro-macro interactions”, Annals of the Association of American Geographers 106 (Access requires log-in, but short blog available here).
• Kabeer, N.; Mahmud, S. and Tasneem, S. (2011) "Does paid work provide a pathway to women’s empowerment? Empirical findings from Bangladesh", Institute for Development Studies, Sussex.
• The Economist (2009) “Soaps, sex, and sociology” (Access requires log-in).

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• When does social change accelerate? Dr. Evans highlights the role of civil wars, employment, cities, and the media in accelerating change. Do you agree?
• Can you highlight additional cases and stories that could be termed promising or even successful in this field?

The role of ideas in development (Desmond McNeill)

Related readings:

If you are interested in exploring this issue further, Prof. McNeill recommends the following three readings:

• McNeill, D. (2009) "The Concept of Sustainable Development" in A. Holland, K. Lee and D. McNeill (eds) Global Sustainable Development in the 21st Century, Edinburgh University Press.
• McNeill, D. (2006) "The diffusion of ideas in development theory and policy", Global Social Policy 6 (Access requires log-in).
• McNeill, D. (2007) "‘Human development’: The power of the idea", Journal of Human Development 8 (Access requires log-in).

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• Prof. McNeill exhorts us to use analytical rigor and clear definitions when discussing ideas about development. Have you encountered “vague” or “fuzzy” ideas in your own work or area of expertise? Do you agree or disagree with Prof. McNeill’s prescription for analytical rigor?

• Are there any situations where “fuzzy” ideas can actually be useful?

How do the SDGs differ from the MDGs? (Desmond McNeill)

Related readings:

You can learn more about the SDGs and how they differ from the MDGs in the following resources:

• Sachs, J. (2012) “From Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals”, The Lancet.
• Fukuda-Parr, S. (2018) “Sustainable Development Goals” (1-17), in T. Weiss & S. Daws (eds.), Oxford Handbook on the United Nations (2^nd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press (Access requires log-in).

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• What is the added value of having 17 SDGs rather than 8 MDGs?