Is it possible to attain economic and social development through law? If so, what are the possibilities and limits of relying on law to bring about such changes? This module invites you to critically examine the role of law in the pursuit of economic, human, and social development globally. You will be introduced to scholarship from law, international development, anthropology, and politics that examine how certain notions of 'development' are codified through international instruments and how they have facilitated targeted legal reforms in different parts of the world. You will be invited to critically examine the role of international organisations in shaping ideas of what constitutes development and how those goals are pursued through international and national law.
In the first half of the module, you will map the theory, history, and extent of the international development field. In the second part of the module, you will focus on how specific social issues such as poverty, elections and democracy, rule of law, and gender-based violence have been identified as ‘developmental’ problems by international organisations and how they address them. The latter part also invites you to engage with the ‘local’ experiences of international development initiatives as represented in newspaper articles, documentaries, and literature.
Lectures -16 hours
Workshops -16 hours
Written - Short writing piece- Research Plan- 800 words- worth 25% of the total marks for the module
Written- Extended Writing- Research Report -2500 words or 2000 words with a poster- worth 75% of the total marks for the module- This assessment is pass compulsory.
Reassessment methods- Like-for-like
For reading lists see the detailed module information on moodle
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:-
1. Critically analyse and compare the different approaches of international institutions in relation to development and how law is used to facilitate specific development goals.
2. Critically analyse and compare the varied experiences of nation-states in adopting reforms to bring about economic, social and human development through law, and reflect on why their experiences vary.
3. Engage with scholarship from disciplines such as law, sociology, anthropology, development studies and political science and apply them to assess, argue, and critically
evaluate internationally led development initiatives globally and the role of law in facilitating such initiatives.
4. Formulate and articulate their own opinions regarding the developmental initiatives of various international organisations and critically appraise the impact of such initiatives in context.
5. Manage their own learning by planning and developing their coursework and make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources as part of their summative and formative assessments.
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