Development between nuance and neo-liberalism

International development today is not a particularly nuanced affair. Its most visible protagonists are currently “aid celebrities,” such as Bono, Thomas Friedman, Bob Geldof, and Jeffrey Sachs, who believe that “an end to poverty” can be achieved through “compassionate consumption,” “trade not aid,” massive commodity spectacles, and “back-to-the-sixties” bulk investments (Biccum 2007; Richey and Ponte 2006). This fact alone makes the three nuanced accounts by David Mosse; Tania Li; and Richard Sandbrook, Marc Edelman, Patrick Heller, and Judith Teichman valuable and welcome contributions to the debate on development. In its own way, each book highlights contemporary issues concerning development and tries to contextualize, balance, and critically reflect on dominant interpretations and modi operandi.

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