Policies of International
Development in the Polycrisis – Current Issues and Novel Approaches
(Entwicklungspolitik
in der Polykrise – Aktuelle Themen und neue Ansätze)
In the face of multiple
interconnected crises—collectively known as the polycrisis— critiques of
international development policies are growing increasingly vocal. Critics are questioning
the effectiveness of foreign aid, development assistance and development
cooperation as reliable instruments for ensuring the well-being of humanity and
the planet (Gabriel et al., 2022, Brand
et al., 2021). The polycrisis has exposed the
limitations of Western anthropocentrism and instrumentalism, which perpetuate
several binaries and dichotomies inherent in the "civilizational"
approach (Godrej, 2016). As a result, there is a pressing need for
alternative perspectives that transcend Western-centric and purely technocratic
approaches to development.
This seminar seeks to revisit,
reimagine and reshape international development policies by exploring how
alternative conceptions and practices can effectively the polycrisis. The
seminar will achieved this aim through the following three steps:
1) Vision - Reimagining international development by
incorporating bodies of knowledge beyond Western ideation, such as indigenous
wisdom and non-Western development outlooks.
2) Barriers – Assessing the current limitations of
international development, with a focus on power dynamics, dominance structures
and path dependencies in consensual knowledge and multilateralism.
3) Actions – Developing policy recommendations for advancing
international development policies
Throughout the seminar, students
will enhance their critical thinking skills and deepen their understanding of
diverse concepts and practices in international development. They will also
learn to critically and analytically engage with international development
discourse, exploring its various theoretical approaches and related practices.
Requirements and Organization of
Course:
The course is open to
students of MA Internationale Beziehungen und Entwicklungspolitik as
well as MA Development and Governance.
To achieve the course
objectives, students are expected to attend regularly, read the assigned texts,
and actively participate in each session. Since every session includes a
discussion of the readings, thorough preparation is essential. The required readings
are clearly identified below and are accessible via the Moodle platform. Access
to Moodle will require a password, which will be provided during the first
meeting.
The main assessment
for this course will be an individually composed policy paper. To support the
development of the policy paper, students will be divided into groups. Each
group will present a report during the block portion of the seminar. Detailed
guidelines regarding the format of the policy papers and class presentations
will be provided during the course.
