Short Abstract

This panel explores who defines and represents “development,” interrogating power, voice, and authority. It highlights decolonial practices, indigenous epistemologies, and strategies that centre local knowledge in shaping alternative development futures.

Description

This paper panel interrogates the politics of voice, authority, and representation in development theory and practice, asking: Who defines development, who represents communities, and whose knowledge is legitimised? For too long, dominant discourses have privileged perspectives from the Global North, often sidelining local epistemologies, indigenous practices, and community-led innovations. In an era marked by calls to decolonise both development studies and economics, this question has never been more urgent.

We invite paper contributions that critically examine how power relations shape the creation, circulation, and application of knowledge in development contexts. Areas of focus may include (but are not limited to):

-The marginalisation or reclamation of indigenous epistemologies within global frameworks.

-Grassroots initiatives, libraries, and community archives as sites of resistance and agency.

-The politics of research partnerships, funding, and knowledge transfer.

-Alternative methodologies that challenge extractive or one-directional models of development.

-Practical examples of decolonial approaches in policy, education, or practice.

Convenors will work closely with contributors to ensure high-quality dialogue. Papers will be shared in advance of the conference to foster deeper engagement, and a discussant will synthesise insights and highlight connections between contributions.

This panel aims to go beyond critique by showcasing strategies, practices, and experiments that centre local voices and lived experiences. In doing so, it seeks to chart plural pathways for reimagining development futures in an uncertain world.

This Panel has 7 pending paper proposals.
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