220059 Inter-American development thinking during the 20th century (V+Ü) (WiSe 2021/2022)

Primarily from the early 20th century, the political public and governments of the Western hemisphere have become more and more concerned with the issue of economic development in their respective countries. The political discourse since then has reverberated around questions of how to intentionally foster economic development and governments are to a large degree evaluated regarding the economic growth rates during their terms in office.
Approaching from a perspective of the history of ideas and the history of social sciences, this seminar focuses on the historical genesis of different development theories which were conceptualized in the Americas over the course of the 20th century, which informed the political debates and economic policies of their times.

Starting with the “Laissez-faire” economic policies from the years before World War I, we will discuss the concept of Import Substitution Industrialization employed by Latin American countries during and in the aftermath of the war and the ideas of the New Deal created by the Roosevelt Administration in reaction to the Great Depression. The second step will focus on the raise of Modernization Theory as the theoretical structure of the US hegemony after WWII as well as Dependency Theory, which represents a major contribution from Latin American intellectuals to economic theory from the viewpoint of the global periphery. Thirdly, the seminar will focus on the genesis, characteristics, and division between Neoliberalism, Neo-Developmentalism, and the Post-Development theory, which dominate the political landscape from the 1980s on.

Looking through an Inter-American lens, the seminar will focus on the interconnectedness and entanglement of these development theories between the US and Canada on one side and Latin American countries on the other. We will deal with questions regarding the historical context in which different theoretical concepts emerge and their political dissemination, as well as their institutional promotors, critics and opponents.

Bibliography

Escobar, Arturo (2012): Encountering development. The making and unmaking of the Third World. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Nederveen Pieterse, Jan (2009): Development theory. Deconstructions/reconstructions. 2nd ed. London: Sage.

Fischer, Karin (2019): “Development”. In Olaf Kaltmeier et. al, eds.: The Routledge Handbook to Political Economy and Governance in the Americas. London: Routledge.