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 fields such as critical development and agrarian studies, (feminist) political ecology, political economy and governmentality to examine how development is globally interconnected, dependent on contested and finite resources, and generative of emissions and waste at a global scale. We challenge mainstream perspectives by showing how prosperity in the Global North has long depended on the land, labour, and natural resources of the Global South, leaving it in a position where conventional development pathways are not only more difficult to pursue 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 social-relational analysis foregrounding power relations 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)

Publications

Joint publication by 14 members of our group together with our Guest Professor (2022–2025), Jonathan Rigg. The article synthesises four decades of research on rural smallholder farming, drawing on evidence from 19 countries across three continents: Rendering smallholders social: Taking a social relations approach to understanding the persistence of smallholders in the rural Global South - ScienceDirect

Publications produced by members of the research group

Outreach efforts by the group

• A research-based guide for consumers and various actors involved in carbon forestry: Assessing social benefits from carbon forestry
  Contact: Flora Hajdu
• A co-created film portraying conflicts between farmers and cattle keepers in rural Kigoma, Tanzania
  Contact: Karolina Wallin Fernqvist
• ”Fields of Power”, a podcast that explores how ownership of agricultural land shapes democracy and how the loss of this land can lead to authoritarian politics
  Contact: Noémi Gonda
  🔊 Listen here:
  Spotify
  Apple
  Deezer
  Website
  Read more about the podcast here
• ”Fishy work” – a podcast series about the fishing industry and labour to shed light on the often overlooked work done at sea
  Contact: Alin Kadfak
  🔊 Listen here:
  Spotify
  Podbean
  Podchaser
  Boomplay
  Website

Follow the group (Rural Development SLU) and individual group members on LinkedIn.