Development Knowledge in the Making: The Case of Japan, South Korea and China

Abstract

Development knowledge sharing (DKS) by Japan, South Korea and China has rapidly expanded over the last decade. However, little scholarly attention has been paid to the nature and processes of their claimed-to-be ‘unique’ development knowledge production. To address this research gap, we explore their international development studies (IDS) as key sites where researchers and resources are ‘mobilized’ under high-level policy initiatives. We find that processes of DKS are principally dictated by the governmental agenda. We also find that, in contradiction to three countries’ claim of ‘unique knowledge’, their IDS share common traits with Western IDS offering knowledge that is decontextualized, depoliticized and which claims to be universally applicable knowledge.