140380 KU GM3 - Development Theories and Paradigms from a Transdisciplinary Perspective (2016W)

The idea of development has been criticised for a long time - a critique which in many cases was framed in terms of alternative development concepts or, more radical, as alternative to development.

While sharing many features and themes, discourses about alternatives are always embedded into the political context of the countries and regions where they emerged. There are cases where these alternatives are formulated in countries of the Global South as part of a project to overcome the dominance of industrialised countries of the Global North. If actors who challenge inequality, and exploitation are taking the lead in such discourses, we can speak of emancipatory projects. Most prominent examples are buen vivir and other concepts in Latin America.

In other parts of the world, however, radical alternative debates are embedded into the political system in a different way. Alternative concepts in many parts of Asia, such as Sufficiency Economy in Thailand, are often part of a conservative or even authoritarian political project.