ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that processes of development have been, and will remain, necessarily violent. The unequal nature of the world-economy has been a constant feature of capitalism since its emergence as a global system in the mid-1400s. The inequalities of the world-economy are explained through the framework of world-systems analysis and the concepts of core and periphery processes. The way the inequalities are managed through forms of violence is explained using Galtung’s structural relations of imperialism. The changing historical practices and representations of development and related violence are explored by a critique of post–World War Two developmentalism. The current situation is discussed with focus upon China’s economic and geopolitical influence. Though violence and development have been linked throughout modern history, we can also identify movements toward peace that have been connected to goals of global development. The chapter concludes by noting that the challenges of global climate change offer another opportunity for development to be an avenue toward peace.
