Unity in Diversity? Reflections on Development Studies in the Mid-2020s

Abstract

Development Studies (DS) demonstrates maturity as a field of inquiry marked by the half-century anniversaries of journals, institutes, and scholarly associations of DS. There is vitality in terms of the volume of research and the buoyant numbers of students engaging with the subject, though DS continues to fragment. The central argument of this paper is that contemporary DS has four broad ‘schools of thought’ which differ significantly in terms of positions taken on the framing of, and universality of development. A typology of DS is proposed which illustrates this. The paper posits that DS would be healthier intellectually if the divides were the subject of greater dialogue. Potential avenues for initiating this discussion are suggested.