China Social Science Review

No.3, 2024

From “Development” to “Global Development”: An Evolution of Ideas and Logic

(Abstract)

Xu Tianxiang and Gao Ming

Development studies have sought to provide developing countries with policy options for transformation and development based on the Western experience of social change, but have not achieved the desired results. Structuralist development theory, dependency theory and other attempts to examine the real situation of developing countries in the capitalist world system. Although its policies have not helped Latin American countries to find a path of sustained economic growth, the structural concerns have led to a reflection on the overall character of the world system, which has led to the emergence of the concept of global development, which is reflected in the agenda of the work of international organizations such as the United Nations. At present, the process of globalization is facing serious challenges, and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has seriously deviated from the established goals, demonstrating the complexity and uncertainty of global development issues. In this context, it is necessary to explore the construction of a knowledge framework for “broad development studies,” incorporating Western social change and the process of knowledge production into research, so as to break through the logical opposition of the Western-non-Western dichotomy, and to promote the transformation and innovation of development knowledge.