Development Studies: Enduring Debates and Possible Trajectories

Abstract

How should we understand current debates in development studies? More specifically, how should we understand the way in which these debates have been seen through the eyes of scholars from a range of disciplines who have been associated with Studies in Comparative International Development (SCID)? Building on an analysis of the distribution of topics, disciplines, and regions covered by articles in SCID over the past 50 years, this essay coveys a vision of development studies as seen through the lens of SCID. The four articles that follow this one help us interrogate a series of substantive issues central to development studies and their interrelationships – democracy, inequality, and the effects of the international context. We also explore two topics not covered in the articles – the role of the state in the economy and broader aspects of the international context. We conclude by speculating on how these arenas of development studies might evolve in the future.