Development geography: Politics and ‘the state’ under crisis

Abstract

This article examines theorizations of the state and politics in recent development geography. It argues that in the context of the current international financial crisis, questions about what constitutes the political and how to conceptualize the state in relation to development have taken on a renewed salience for development studies. It reviews recent research that traces the social and cultural production of states and markets, and identifies some important new work that contributes to understanding local mediations of state power. It argues that whereas the dramatic economic retrenchment of recent years has prompted reinvigorated attention to the politics of international development and the governance of international finance, critical development geographers have maintained a steady focus on these issues for many decades. It concludes with a call for sustained engagement with questions about development praxis and the role of the public intellectual in development studies.