The pluralism of development narratives stands at the center of geopolitical rivalry in the 21st century. The rise of the East challenges the idea that there is a singular model of development based on the Global North’s developmental experience. In practices instituted by international organizations established in the 20th century, the Global North served as the model and funder for the developing South. However, the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997/1998 highlighted the mismatch between the remedies offered by international institutions dominated by the Global North and the local conditions in Asia. The Global Financial Crisis of 2008 further called into question the Western model of development. In addition, China’s meteoric economic rise allows it to serve as an alternative model and funder to the South. China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Global Development Initiative follow a set of principles that are at times at odds with those espoused by the Global North. Alternative narratives of development have emerged as result that challenges the 20th century tenets of global development.
International organizations and national governments no longer have a monopoly over development narratives. A multiplicity of stakeholders across the globe, including supranational, national, subnational, transnational, and non-state actors, has generated a pluralism of development narratives. What are these development narratives? What explains the framing of these narratives? To what extent is geopolitics, identity, and culture embedded in these alternatives? How has technological advancement shaped development narratives? Are the narratives of the Global North and the Global South fundamentally incompatible? Is it possible for a shared narrative of development to emerge in the 21st century?
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