The Politics of Development An Introduction to Global Issues

by Seitz, John L.

• ISBN13: 9780631158011
• ISBN10: 0631158014
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1991-01-08
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

The book focuses on the role political processes play in solving certain key problems which have accompanied economic development in both the developed and less developed nations of the world. By breaking down the factors which define development into clear cut categories, namely population, food, energy, the environment, and technology, the author offers a useful approach to understanding the problems the world is facing today and will continue to face for the foreseeable future. The text provides a useful guide and resource for those who wish to grasp the implications of the rapid growth of the world's population, world hunger, the threat of nuclear war, uncertain energy supplies, acid rain and deforestation.

Author Biography

John L. Seitz is Associate Professor of Government at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Professor Seitz has spent eleven years working for organizations which are concerned with economic and political development in the Third World. His work has taken him to South Korea, Iran, Brazil, Liberia, and Pakistan.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
The Wealth and Poverty of Nations	p. 1
The Orthodox Approach	p. 2
The Radical Approach	p. 5
The Growth-with-Equity Approach	p. 8
Conclusions	p. 12
Notes	p. 15
Population and Development	p. 17
The Changing Population of the World	p. 17
Causes of the Population Explosion	p. 24
Population Growth Affects Development	p. 26
Development Affects Population Growth	p. 30
Governmental Population Policies	p. 34
The Future	p. 39
Conclusions	p. 43
Notes	p. 44
Food and Development	p. 46
Food Production	p. 46
How Many Are Hungry?	p. 47
Causes of World Hunger	p. 48
Food Affects Development	p. 51
Development Affects Food	p. 53
The Green Revolution	p. 62
Governmental Food Policies	p. 63
Future Food Supplies	p. 66
Conclusions	p. 71
Notes	p. 72
Energy and Development	p. 76
The Energy Crisis	p. 76
Responses by Governments to the Energy Crisis	p. 80
The Effect of the Energy Crisis on Third World Development Plans	p. 84
The Relationship Between Energy Use and Development	p. 86
The Greenhouse Effect	p. 91
The Energy Transition	p. 94
Nuclear Power: A Case Study	p. 103
Conclusions	p. 111
Notes	p. 113
The Environment and Development	p. 117
The Awakening	p. 117
The Air	p. 119
The Water	p. 123
The Land	p. 126
The Workplace and the Home	p. 132
The Use of Natural Resources	p. 135
The Extinction of Species	p. 139
Environmental Politics	p. 142
Conclusions	p. 144
Notes	p. 146
Technology and Development	p. 149
Benefits of Technology	p. 149
Short-term versus Long-term Benefits	p. 150
Unanticipated Consequences of the Use of Technology	p. 153
Inappropriate Uses of Technology	p. 156
Limits to the "Technological Fix"	p. 158
The Threat of Nuclear War: A Case Study	p. 160
Conclusions	p. 166
Notes	p. 167
Alternative Futures	p. 170
Doom	p. 171
Growth	p. 175
Steady State	p. 177
Conclusions	p. 179
Notes	p. 181
Selected Bibliography	p. 183
Index	p. 189
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