AI5201 Re-sit Essay Questions 2019-20
Word limit 2500 words
Select one question from the following:
- Assess the following statement: “President Truman’s famous Presidential address is as relevant to development today as it was in 1949”.
- “By the 1950s, the economic and social costs of Africa’s colonial development had outweighed the gains.” Examine this statement with reference to any two European colonial powers.
- “Colonialism gave nothing to India, except poverty, famine, disease and underdevelopment.” Discuss.
- Compare and contrast dependency and modernization theories.
- Does World Systems Theory represent a significant theoretical contribution in development? Consider this in relation to dependency theories.
- Why did the success of the neo-statist economic policies of the East Asian Tigers not lead to the adoption and successful implementation of similar policies in all developing countries? Use examples.
- What brought about the ‘impasse’ in theories of development and how was it related to major development theories prior to the 1980s?
- “Neo-liberals were correct to blame ‘Third World’ underdevelopment on state intervention”. How true is this statement?
- What are the key features of neoliberalism and how has have they been implemented in developing countries since the 1980s?
- Do alternative development approaches offer genuine alternatives?
- How and to what extent do global environmental concerns occupy centre stage in discussions of development?
- “Capability theory help us to measure and manage inequality in order to mitigate its worst effects.” Discuss the truth of this statement.
- “The description of the 1980s as a ‘lost decade’ in terms of development is misconceived”. How true is this statement?
- How does postcolonial theory help us to rethink development?
