| Popis: |
‘Development’ means different things to different communities of social scientists, and the topic has motivated inquiries employing vastly different theoretical frameworks. Yet, ultimately, development refers to improvements in the conditions of life for groups of people experiencing relative deprivation. Whether pursued through interventions by external agents, such as development assistance agencies, or through initiatives of the targeted communities themselves, development is a process that involves social actors. Indeed, to the extent that particular trajectories of economic change are known to correlate strongly with societal characteristics, development increasingly is understood as a set of processes that reflect underlying social dynamics of the territories in which it takes place. This article sketches the evolution of social scientific thinking about development. After tracing movement away from the conviction that ‘all good things would go together’ in tandem with economic progress, the essay highlights currents of research that illuminate connections between characteristics of social processes and the nature of development outcomes. It concludes by noting promising trends and future challenges for research on development. |
