Nexus of Emotional and Development Geographies

Abstract

Recently, the nexus of international development and emotion has received increasing attention from diverse sectors. While scholars from postcolonial, post-structural, and feminist perspectives have long called for increased attention to emotions and the more-than-rational, more recent pieces such as the World Bank's World Development Report 2015 on Mind, Society, and Behavior have also taken up the refrain that “emotions matter” in development. Whether viewed as motivating factors, explanatory devices, or phenomena to be harnessed and manipulated, emotions are emerging as a key piece in development theory and practice. This paper critically analyzes the ways in which the nexus of emotion and development has been conceptualized from various perspectives. In particular, it raises questions related to geographies of power and control and highlights the implications of this emotional turn for both the theory and practice of development.