The historical understanding of the multifaceted trajectories of development - encompassing contested discourses, diverse institutional frameworks, and a heterogeneous repertoire of policies and practices - has evolved significantly in recent years. This scholarship has brought a fresh historical reassessment of ‘colonial development,’ critically examining its shifting chronologies and dynamics, geographies and actors, motivations and objectives, as well as its planned and unintended consequences. We now have a rich body of literature that explores development in relation to key historical phenomena of the twentieth century, including the institutionalization of international organizations, the intensification of urbanization and industrialization, the expansion of globalizing dynamics and global integration, decolonization, and the emergence of both the Cold War and the ‘Third World.’This volume documents the variety and depth of these historiographical achievements, offering original, high-quality studies. It serves as a valuable resource for scholars, students, and practitioners interested in the historical complexities of development and its broader global implications.
