Civil society, social movements and the development process

Key information

Start date
End date
Duration
Term 1
Module code
15PDSH001
FHEQ Level
7
Credits
15
Department
Department of Development Studies

Module overview

Until recently, the study of development process until recently has centered largely on the triangle of states-markets-international institutions. For the last decade, mainstream development discourse has adopted the notion of 'civil society' as simultaneously the site of 'citizens' collective action' as well as a set of actors to be incorporated in the planning, implementation and evaluation of development projects. This notion of 'civil society' has tended to focus exclusively on NGOs.

This module provides a more political understanding of 'civil society' by examining social movements in relation to civil society and to the development project itself. It begins by current theories of ‘civil society' and 'new social movements'. It then assesses the impact of nationalist and socialist movements on shaping the development agenda of nineteenth-century European and late-colonial states, and how social movements from the 1950s-1980s interacted with national governments in blocking, changing or advancing the development agendas of states (e.g., Gandhian movements in India, the housing rights movements in urban Latin America, and the movements against minority rule in Southern Africa).

The module focuses on contexts (e.g. democratisation, globalisation, etc.), sectors (e.g. environment, agriculture), spaces (e.g. rural, urban) and agents (e.g. women). Subsequently, the module addresses the issue of 'global civil society': issues of 'globalisation' and transnational networks of solidarity created in response to it, for example, the movements against 'sweatshop labour', the Zapatista movement in Mexico, and movements against transnational companies and institutions of global governance (WTO, World Bank, IMF etc.).

Objectives and learning outcomes of the module

The learning objectives of the module are:

  • to familiarize students with the debates on civil society in social and political theory, and so to provide them with a broader understanding of it than in mainstream development discourses;
  • to provide a framework to understand the relation between civil society and contemporary social movement politics;
  • to provide a framework for understanding the relation between social movements and development agendas, an important subset of the politics and sociology of development.

Workload

Teaching takes place through a weekly 2 hour seminar.

Method of assessment

100% Coursework. Each student is required an essay worth 60% of the overall grade and an article review worth 40% of the overall grade. Resubmission of coursework regulations apply.

Disclaimer

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules