After Post-Development

Jan Nederveen Peterse

Presented by: Anirban Das

 Key Idea
Post-development (which rejects development) focuses on the underlying premises and motives
of development - what are the major overt positions?
Anti-managerialism and dichotomic thinking creates the difference Alternative development and
‘alternatives to development’
Politics of Post-development promotes endorsement of the status quo. Post-development’ is
misconceived because it attributes to ‘development’ a single and narrow meaning
 Key Quote
At a philosophical level we may wonder whether there are alternatives to development for homo-
sapiens, as the ‘unfinished animal’, i.e. to development writ large, also in the wide sense of
evolution.
 Key Issue
This dualist perspective of development may be unrealistic, and Marc Edelman notes that a large
proportion of development has risen from, rather than been imposed upon, the developing world.
Citing Jonathan Crush's point that “Development, for all its power to speak and to control the
terms of speaking, has never been impervious to challenge and resistance, nor, in response, to
reformulation and change”.
Ray Kiely argues that “The post-development idea is thus part of a long history within the
development discourse”. Post-development theory is merely the latest version of a set of
criticisms that have long been evident within writing and thought in the field of development.