Preface and acknowledgements

Welcome to ‘Development World’. The pursuit of development has become a global concern and no one is unaffected. Aspiring to manage change in economic, political, social and cultural arenas, development is a world-shaping project.

The world of development is neither simple nor self-contained. Its cultures, moralities, languages, rituals and symbolic practices relate to what is already there. And, like any political world, it is subject to considerable tensions as differences emerge in the interests and attitudes of its diverse peoples. As geo-political realities shift and understandings of poverty and progress take on new meanings, the old geographical and social divisions – such as developing and developed – can no longer be sustained.

Defining development globally allows us to consider development from a wide range of different perspectives. Moving from the global to the local, from policy makers to farmers, it is a subject well suited to anthropological investigation. This book offers an anthropological guide to Development World. In it we explore anthropology’s varied engagement with and understandings of institutions and social groups. It explains the complex relationships linking donors to government ofi cials and development professionals to project beneficiaries. Anthropological perspectives offer ways of understanding the value judgements, social realities and social practices that make up the world of aid and development.