Volume 25, number 1 (2004)
Theme Issue: International Development Studies in Canada
Introduction
“There [have] been a number of previous studies on IDS in Canadian universities such as those of Polanyi-Levitt and Trak (1984), and Einsiedel and Parmar (1995). The importance of development for Canadians [has] also been given prominence in the report of a task force, chaired by Maurice Strong, Connecting with the World: Priorities for Canadian Internationalism in the 21st Century presented in 1996. However, we felt that a new study was warranted not only to update the information on IDS in Canadian universities but also to come to terms with the intellectual ferment that surrounds IDS. Whether from the fascination with globalization or from the postmodern critiques of the idea of development, IDS seemed a field of study under attack and lacking theoretical anchors. It was ironic that, just as more and more IDS programs were being established in Canadian universities, the intellectual underpinnings of IDS seemed to be increasingly problematic. A new study was needed to chart and analyze these trends …
“At CASID’s annual conference in June 2002, the idea of [a white paper on IDS in Canada] was discussed with a wide body of academics, non-government organizations, and government representatives. On the basis of this discussion, critical issues were identified which needed to be addressed. These issues became the subject of commissioned papers. Drafts of these papers were presented at CASID’s annual conference in 2003, were received with considerable interest, and were the subject of lively debate. These papers provided the background material for the White Paper. In revised form, they provide the contents of this special issue … ”
What is Distinctive about International Development Studies?
International Development Studies (IDS) focus on developing countries per se, examining issues of global applicability of common concern to all regions. IDS are interdisciplinary in nature; foster studies at the international, national, and sub-national levels; and are at once theoretical, policy-oriented, and empirical. While IDS programs have a clear commitment to an interdisciplinary approach, they each have different ways of accomplishing it. They are, therefore very eclectic and variegated. There is now a clear need for strengthening core funding of IDS programs, and building a core staff of genuinely interdisciplinary teachers and researchers. The study of IDS is important not only for pragmatic and humanitarian reasons, but also for reasons of enlightened self-interest. It also helps us to understand ourselves and the challenges we face as much as it does the people of developing countries and the problems they are encountering.
International Development Studies in the Era of Globalization … and Unilateralism
After four or five decades, the field of International Development Studies (IDS) is still both dynamic and in demand especially in Canada, as reflected by the present project and special issue. Yet the definition and direction of the field remain problematic. And while globalization has yet to completely subvert development discourses, US unilateralism may still so succeed. IDS have continued to be flexible and inclusive, incorporating new issues and actors, technologies, and coalitions. Now, however, IDS face challenges from new programs such as global or new security studies as well as development disillusionment and exhaustion.
The Development Project in Theory and Practice: A Review of its Shifting Dynamics
This paper traces the evolution of ideas associated with the development project over the six “development decades” (from 1948 to the present), focusing on the changing contexts that gave rise to identifiable shifts in thought and practice. Part I reviews the ideas associated with theories of economic growth and modernization that dominated the launching and evolution of the development project. Part II explores the major shift in development theory and practice associated with the 1970s, most notably the dependency perspective. By 1980, development theory can no longer be seen simply in linear terms. Diverse positions on theory and practice were emerging both within and cutting across three major paradigms. Part III focuses on the mainstream or neo-liberal counter-revolution, along with the mainstream approach to alternative development and the political economy perspective. Part IV examines the development impasse, anti-development, and the emergence of critical alternative development in the 1990s. Finally, the paper explores the implications of these various approaches to development, concluding that the multi-vocal “confusion” and “chaos” is not a hindrance, but, rather, offers much needed nuance and complexity to development theory and practice.
New Issues, New Perspectives: Implications for International Development Studies
This paper examines the introduction of “new” contextual issues and analytical concepts within International Development Studies (IDS) that have shaped the current penchant for the “development and … ” focus. Contextual issues (e.g., poverty, aid, health, education, HIV/AIDS, new information and communication technologies, peacekeeping, and conflict resolution) and highly contested analytical concepts (e.g., gender, environment or sustainability, civil society, globalization, good governance, social capital, capacity building, participation, empowerment, and security) have been wedded to core development questions. This paper examines both how this “development and … ” focus has shaped development studies and provided the foundations for a new and invigorated generation of development theories. It analyzes how the introduction of “new” contextual issues and analytical concepts has challenged, or failed to challenge, our conceptual understanding of development issues. It provides a chronology of how and when such issues and concepts are introduced, and how and why they are taken on and off the development policy agenda set by multilateral and bilateral agencies.
International Development Studies and Ethical Dilemmas in Academia
Since its onset in the early 1960s, Development Studies (and International Development Studies) has been a field in search of a discipline, clearly subordinated to various governmental and international agencies’ development policies and practices. Born during the Cold War in a post-colonial setting and under the confinements of a Western academic environment, the field has also carried some of the peculiar ideological traits of its founding disciplines: economics, political science, sociology, and anthropology. These historical traits have been compounded by a progressive closure of academic debate and critical analysis that have rendered the field increasingly void of critical content and ethical reflection. The essence of the current crisis of development studies has been the result of the convergence of two factors. One is the hegemony of an almost tautological paradigm: neo-liberal structural adjustment policies. The other is the transformation of academic institutions from a “critical outsider” role to that of bidder for development monies. In this context, the need to reformulate development thinking towards a more holistic, “outside the box,” analytical and ethical perspective is both a practical and theoretical imperative.
Multilatéralisation et développement international : nouveaux enjeux, nouvelles pratiques
Contribution à l’étude sur l’état de la recherche des études en développement international au Canada
This paper looks at fundamental changes in the field of international development co-operation in Quebec, in terms of redefinition of issues, theoretical frameworks, and approaches underpinning research and practice. It shows how globalization has influenced theoretical and practical approaches to international development, stimulating a renewal of the demand for research, new forms of collaboration and interdisciplinarity, and contributing to redefining the question of development. After describing the influence of the evolving international context on academic enquiry into the theoretical foundations and research methods of development studies, the article shows how this influence is translated into the formulation of new research areas and strategies. It examines how theoretical research on major development issues is tested against field research to determine how models perform, and how they can contribute to improving conditions in lower-income countries. Finally, the authors illustrate the concern in the Quebec development community for establishing links between international and local issues, and for fostering awareness of intercultural and international issues among young people.
Academic Research and Development Policy in Canada
This paper investigates the interface between Canadian development policy and research on international development in Canadian universities. Using a survey, interviews, and case studies, it asks what opportunities there are for Canadian research to influence Canada’s ODA policy; how the ODA policy community works, and how effective the dialogue is between Canadian researchers and policy-makers. It concludes that, for many academics, opportunities are limited; the policy community is weak, and the interaction unsatisfactory. This situation may negatively impact Canadian policy On the basis of their findings and a review of experience in other countries, the authors make five recommendations.
Perspectives on International Development Studies in Canadian Universities: The Canadian Consortium of University Programs in International Development Studies
This paper briefly surveys the membership of the Canadian Consortium of University Programs in International Development Studies to establish a perspective on the variety of institutional and intellectual contexts within which international development is studied in Canada. The paper then examines some of the institutional and intellectual challenges that currently influence the directions of debate in the field of International Development Studies, such as challenges of location, progression, field, linkage, internationalization, globalization, and identity.
A Survey of Upper-Year Students in International Development Studies
The purpose of this study is to provide a “snapshot” of student opinion in relation to the field of International Development Studies (IDS). In order to generate this snapshot we use a combined survey and interview methodology. Four issue areas were of particular importance to us: (1) the initial attraction of students to IDS; (2) how students expect to benefit from their IDS degrees; (3) what changes students would like to see made to IDS programs; and, (4) how an IDS degree helps students in the labour market. For the purpose of comparative analysis, respondents were grouped according to a simple, graduate/undergraduate and domestic/foreign taxonomy. Overall, the results of the study suggest that the majority of IDS students are satisfied with most aspects their programs. However, results also indicate low student confidence in their ability to compete in a highly competitive labour market. Linked to these findings, a strong thematic undercurrent emerged concerning the need for IDS programs to increase emphasis on skill-based and experiential learning strategies.
Teaching and Studying Development: Making It Work
The teaching of International Development Studies (IDS) has expanded greatly since programs were first established in Canadian universities in the 1970s. Much has been learned about how to make these programs work at the undergraduate and graduate levels. There are several keys to success, not the least of which is a focus that extends beyond the recent practice of development agencies to larger alternative visions of human betterment and the longer-term history of capitalist industrialization. The curriculum in IDS should reflect a healthy tension between theory, academic rigour, and practice; strengthen interdisciplinarity; connect the lessons of development processes abroad with experience in Canada; and promote a critical and interactive learning environment that enables students to deepen their understanding of other cultures and their own. Experiential learning should be a central component of an IDS degree — if possible, abroad in a developing country and, in any case, within Canada.