Political Science: The Politics of Development

This course in political science is offered to students in Lund University’s Bachelor Programme in Development Studies (BIDS).

The course explores the political dimensions of development policies and processes with an emphasis on the global governance level and the national level. We look into governance structures, institutions and power relations shaping current development thought and practice in areas such as poverty, health, the environment and gender. The course pays particular attention to relations between states, international organisations, civil society and private business in international development cooperation. A recurrent theme throughout the course is the intersection between the international human rights framework and development policies in a so-called rights-based approach to development. With regard to the national level, the main themes are democratization and state-building, aligned with questions on what development is and ought to be in those processes.