Supporting the Posts in Development Discourse: Under-development, Over-development, Post-development

Abstract

This article seeks to introduce scholars outside of development studies to post-development thought, and to restate its relevance and value to those working within the development field. It begins with an overview of post-development thought and its critique of the post-World War Two development project. Following this, specific critiques levelled at post-development thought and various responses to these are considered. In the last section, the possibility or desirability of raising the living standards of Third World people to a level comparable to those of the First World through economically based development strategies is questioned. The article concludes by drawing attention to First World overdevelopment and the continued value of post-development thinking in unsettling the development trajectory for either the First or Third World.