Rural Development - Global South

The subject Rural Development in the Global South critically examines ideas about development and their material effects across Asia, Africa, and South/Meso America. We draw on (feminist) political ecology, critical development and agrarian studies, political economy and governmentality to explore how development is globally interconnected, reliant on contested and finite resources, and producing emissions and waste at global scale. We challenge mainstream views, highlighting how prosperity in the Global North has long depended on the labor and natural resources of the Global South, leaving it in a position from which conventional development pathways are not just more difficult, but also environmentally unsustainable.

Our research aims to promote more just and sustainable pathways. In contexts where poverty and marginalization shape daily survival, we critically examine who benefits from policies and interventions. A post-colonial perspective, emphasizing a social relational and power-imbued analysis underpins our work.

We prioritize long-term, collaborative field engagements and building relationships with Global South institutions and actors, guided by decolonial principles. Our methods are mainly qualitative, ethnographic and participatory, but range from surveys to co-creative approaches and use stakeholder and policy workshops for scaling, impact and outreach. We study diverse natural resource sectors – agriculture, forestry, fisheries, mining, and energy – from a multitude of perspectives.

Introducing the Rural Development in the Global South Research Group folder (PDF)

A guide: Social benefits from carbon forestry