ABSTRACT
A major characteristic of the multi-, inter-and cross-disciplinary field of development studies since its establishment in the 1940s has been a series of sea-level changes in thinking about the process of development itself. This search for new theoretical conceptualizations of development has been mirrored by changes in the practice of development in the field. Thus, there has been much debate and controversy about development, with many changing views as to its definition, and the strategies by means of which, however development is defined, it may be pursued. In short, the period since the 1950s has seen the promotion and application of many varied views of development. And the literature on development theory and practice has burgeoned (see, for example, Hettne, 1995; Preston, 1996; Cowen and Shenton, 1996; Potter et al., 2008; Peet and Hartwick, 2009; Chant and McIlwaine, 2009; Nederveen Pieterse, 2010; Thirlwall, 2011; Potter et al., 2012). A major theme is that ideas about development have long been controversial and highly contested.
