International research network: Call for expressions of interest Development and Rule: Developmental interventions in the global north

and south compared Dr Martin Gainsborough Martin.Gainsborough@bristol.ac.uk Despite its many strengths, the sub !iscipline of !e"elopment politics is still fun!amentally concerne! with !e"elopment in the global south e"en if this is pursue! within the !ynamics of the global political economy #see $ayne %&&'(. Conse)uently, there is "ery little empirical work * or resulting theorisation * which looks at +!e"elopment, acti"ity in areas of po"erty an! !epri"ation in the global north * for example, in the -. * alongside similar acti"ity in the global south. /his research is premise! on the post colonial i!ea that there is merit to be ha! from "iewing all !e"elopmental inter"entions * regar!less of geographical location * as part of a whole, offering important insights into elite rule an! the nature of the political, which are likely to be o"erlooke! if such inter"entions are treate! separately #see Gainsborough %&0& for a preliminary exploration of these i!eas(. 1eyon! this aca!emic rationale for the pro2ect, there are also pressing policy reasons for exploring analogies in the practice of !e"elopment across the global north an! south * not least concerns about so calle! +home grown, terrorism, an! the often ma!e point that in a globalise! worl! +global problems, re)uire a +global solution,. Moreo"er, as the post in!ustrial north faces financial instability an! !ecline relati"e to the rapi! rise of newly in!ustrialising economies in 3sia an! 4atin 3merica, the notion that problems of po"erty an! !epri"ation are exclusi"ely locate! in the global south becomes har!er to sustain, further un!erlining the importance of examining +!e"elopment, holistically #see /aylor %&&5(. 3!opting an inter!isciplinary approach, we woul! like to hear from aca!emics an! practitioners engage! in research or pro2ect work in relation either to po"erty, !epri"ation, an! !e"elopment in first worl! countries or the same in the global south, who woul! be intereste! in exploring further the i!eas raise! in this call. In theory, this coul! unite people with interests as seemingly !i"erse as international !onor inter"entions in 3sia, 3frica an! 4atin 3merica to people stu!ying * or working with * the white working class6so calle! un!erclass in the -. #or elsewhere(, to people intereste! in the latest shifts in go"ernment attitu!es towar!s welfare benefits as reflecte! in the language of the +big society,. In the aca!emic community, we woul! welcome expressions of interest from anthropologists, historians, sociologists, geographical an! political scientists, an! scholars in !e"elopment politics, postcolonial stu!ies, an! international political economy. In the practitioner community, we woul! welcome expressions of interest from the -. go"ernment #e.g. DfID, Communities an! 4ocal Go"ernment, Cabinet 7ffice(, non go"ernmental organisations, an! charities #e.g. /he 8oseph 9owntree :oun!ation, 9unnyme!e /rust, 1arnar!os(, an! where rele"ant, their ;-, <orth 3merican an! 3ustralasian counterparts, who are also facing the twin challenges of urban po"erty at home an! international !e"elopment.

/he call for expressions of interest is a first step towar!s buil!ing an international research network as the basis for a ma2or fun!ing application un!er the auspices of the Global Insecurities Centre at the -ni"ersity of 1ristol an! linke! to key fun!ing council strategic priorities. Intereste! parties !o not ha"e to be working in both the -. an! the global south to become in"ol"e! as bringing people together is precisely what the network seeks to achie"e. =owe"er, by way of example, I ha"e experience of international ai! in >ietnam an! community !e"elopment work in inner city 1ristol. Dr Martin Gainsborough 9ea!er in De"elopment $olitics ?chool of ?ociology, $olitics an! International ?tu!ies -ni"ersity of 1ristol /el. &00@ AA0 &B50 ;mail. martin.gainsborough@bristol.ac.uk