Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ARA1037: The Politics of Development

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The module aims to provide you with a general introductory survey of the politics of development, focusing particularly on the Middle East, but also covering cases from Africa and Asia. The module will introduce you to the major theoretical debates in international development and the implications of different development definitions, as well as covering the core challenges of development and the role played by political institutions (domestic and international). Upon completion of the module, you will be equipped with an understanding of the effects of international aid as well as be able to situate development challenges within core international debates on development. The module furthermore provides a good foundation for further study of development and foreign assistance, such as e.g. authoritarian resilience and democracy support as well as, of course, Middle East studies in general.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. demonstrate an understanding of the major theories of the politics of development as well as the main forces, trends and characteristics of the domestic and international factors at play; 2. place contemporary political events in social and historical contexts and appreciate the role political institutions might play for development as well as understand some of the core challenges of development;
Discipline-Specific Skills	3. relate political issues and trends to economic, societal and cultural dynamics, and to comprehend the interplay between these at the domestic and international levels; 4. relate socio-political and socio-economic phenomena at the local and international level;
Personal and Key Skills	5. synthesize information from various sources into a coherent written argument displaying an understanding of the core debates around international development aid; 6. demonstrate good oral and written communication skills; and 7. demonstrate the ability to work as part of a team.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of the following topics:

Modernization theory and dependency theory
Structuralism and political development
The Washington consensus and poverty
Domestic factors (culture, religion, inequality, civil conflict)
International factors (colonialism, democratization, international financial institutions)
Political systems (political parties, political systems, populism, leadership)

Each week we will also cover a specific country chosen by the students from a list supplied by the module convenor. We will study the core development challenges of that country and the country's background.

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	128	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled learning and teaching activity	22	A combination of lectures, group work and guided class discussions (11 x 2 hours)
Guided independent study	55	Reading and preparing for the weekly seminars
Guided independent study	14	Researching and preparing group presentation
Guided independent study	59	Researching and writing synopsis and essay

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).