World Politics in a New Era

1
World Politics in a New Era

• World Politics
• Development

2
What Development Means

• Developed and developing states have different
  views
• The goals of development are constantly shifting
• Measuring development is problematic
• Example China

3
Human and Social Development

• The UNs Millennium Development Goals for 2015
• Poverty
• Education
• Gender equality
• Child mortality
• Maternal health
• HIV/AIDs and other diseases
• Environmental stability
• International campaign to reduce the poorest
  countries debt burdens
• G-8 leaders agreement at the 2005 Gleneagles

4
Civil Society and Development

• Politically active, issue-organized public
• Internationally civil society is comprised of
  NGOs, MNCs, and other nonstate actors
• Domestically civil society includes all kinds of
  groups other than government itself
• Several theories focus on the impact civil
  society has on development

5
Modernization Theory

• Economic, political, and cultural conditions
  within states
• LDCs will develop only by shedding their
  traditional social, political, and economic
  institutions
• The fundamental obstacle to development is
  traditional culture
• Trade is seen as the engine of growth

6
Modernization Theory

• Social impact
• Demographic transition and urbanization
• Views urbanization as an essential step in
  development
• The city becomes the focus of the diffusion of
  new ideas, of science and technology, and of
  social mobility

7
Critiques of Modernization Theory

• Questions concerning the duplication of earlier
  paths
• Traditional social and political institutions are
  difficult to change
• The theory is Eurocentric
• The current international economic system is
  biased towards developed states

8
Political Development

• Takes a more narrow view of development
• Lack of consensus on which regime type is
  considered the most developed
• Use of democratization as measure
• Political rights and civil liberties
• Political beliefs and values represent a social
  framework

9
Political Development

• Almond and Verba (1963)
• Individuals behavior was socialized
• Additional theories of political culture
• Patterns of individual orientations
  (behavioralism)
• Material interests and social class (materialism)
  
• Culture as a consequence of rational decisions
• Identity politics

10
Political Development

• Ronald Inglehart
• Link between economic development and democracy
• Robert Putnam
• Development of civil society
• Amy Chua
• Development leads to adjustments in political
  culture
• Constructivists
• Unified understanding and interpretation of
  politics among states elites
• Political culture drives the process of
  development

11
Economic Development

• Dependency theory
• Systemic level of analysis
• The structure of the world economy
• Inherently biased against poor countries
• Developing countries are dependent on exports of
  primary products
• Economies are highly vulnerable to price
  fluctuations

12
Economic Development

• Dependency Theory
• Unequal terms of trade
• Complaints against MNCs
• MNCs avoid paying their share of taxes
• Inappropriate technology transferred to the
  region
• MNCs do not bring capital into LDCs
• Control and manipulate the production of primary
  commodities
• Creating a neocolonial situation

13
Economic Development

• Critiques of Dependency Theory
• It has been proven false
• The plight of primary product exporters may not
  be as bad as originally claimed
• It ignores factors within the developing
  countries

14
Domestic-Economic Development Theories

• Import-substitution Industrialization (ISI)
• Encourages domestic production of goods
  traditionally imported
• Export-led industrialization
• Promotes industrialization through trade
• The Washington Consensus
• Shock therapy
• Rapid economic growth followed for many but at
  certain costs
• Sent many countries on a roller-coaster ride

15
Systemic-Domestics

• Structural adjustment programs (SAPs)
• Focus of the World Bank
• Intended to lower LDCs government debts
• Failed to take into account domestic economic,
  social, and political concerns
• Failed to consider the environmental impact of
  their policies
• SAPs were replaced with the Comprehensive
  Development Framework

16
Development Today

• The World Bank and the IMF have implemented
  greener policies
• Institutions and states are turning to two
  factors
• Technology
• Opportunities for economic and political
  development
• Examples mobile phones and the Green Revolution
• Microfinance
• Promotes development from the bottom up
• Focuses on the poorest of the poor

17
Corruption versus Courage

• Corruption stifles development
• Institutionalized (Example Russia)
• Socialized (Example Colombia)
• Always comes down to the individual (Example
  Mohamed Suharto)
• Spans economics, politics, security, and human
  welfare