PS 337: Politics of Development

Professor: Anna Gruben

 

What does it mean for a country to develop? This course focuses on political change in the developing world. We will begin by analyzing the different ways that development is defined in academic literature, the media and the discourse of international lending institutions, agencies and NGOs. We will proceed by studying development processes such as economic growth, democratization, the expansion of human rights and environmental sustainability. Among our course objectives will be to identify the economic, state and non-state catalysts for development at local, national and international levels. These range from particular political events to the role of social movement in initiating change. Region of interest includes but is not limited to Latin America.