Development Theory: a Case Study

Development can be understood as an activity, a condition, an event, or a process. In natural science, it unfolds according to principles that humans do not control, but in social science, development is entirely the product of human decisions. The concept of Development has transformed over the last sixty years or so. The concept of Development emerged soon after the Second World War with the initiation of decolonisation process throughout the globe. The Development Theory from the perspective of International Relations, broadly has two views. The first one deals with the Orthodox View and the second is called the Alternative View. The Orthodox View comprises of issues like superiority of the Western economies, economic growth, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), per capita income, industrialization. The critics of this modelAndre Gunder Frank and Raul Prebisch talked about Core (Developed Countries) and Periphery (Developing Countries) relation. According to them, the Periphery can only develop with the help of Core. The Orthodox View also laid emphasis on the ‘trickle-down’ of economic growth. On the other hand, the Alternative View deals with the concept of Sustainable Development, Self-Reliance, and dependence on local knowledge rather than ‘imported’ Western comprehension. The parameter of development in this case is not only economic growth, but at the same time stress has been