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AKU-ISMC holds seminar on Governance and Development
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| Members of the first panel: Barbara Stallings, Robert Springborg, Catherine Boone and William Hurst (Left to Right). |
On the 7th of March, AKU-ISMC, in collaboration with the London Middle East Institute at SOAS, held a Seminar on Governance and Development. The Seminar raised a number of critical issues on the multifaceted relationship between governance and development. During the Seminar, a number of development models were analysed, exploring countries and contexts which reflect a range of political, social and economic realities.
The Seminar was divided into three parts: the first exploring the Chinese ‘model’ of development and the perception of it around the globe; the second, a presentation of a range of development models from Muslim contexts; and the third, an analysis of the role of governance in the context of development. Between each session, an open discussion was held, inviting participation and interaction with an audience that included representatives from government, the diplomatic corps, academia and the media.
Professor Robert Springborg, Director of the London Middle East Institute, moderated the first session of the Seminar. He noted that there are a number of consequences of development, and that it is important to recognise that a humanist or spiritual emphasis can also be placed on development.
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| The seminar attracted participants from a wide range of backgrounds, including government, academia and the diplomatic corps. |
In outlining the themes of the Seminar, Springborg said that the Chinese ‘model’ of development had been chosen as a point of reference, not because it is necessarily a ‘good’ model, but because of its contemporary relevance. Springborg also outlined some of the questions that the Seminar was likely to raise, including whether trade and investment should be seen as a help or hindrance to development, what the perceptions of the Chinese ‘model’ of development are in a variety of communities, and how well the ‘model’ is actually working.
In the first panel, ‘Development Models – the Chinese Case’, University of Texas at Austin Assistant Professor William Hurst explored whether China’s continued economic success means that it can present a new model for development. In her paper, Latin America’s view of China: Interest, but Scepticism, Professor Barbara Stallings, Director of the Watson Institute at Brown University, explored attitudes to China in Latin America. University of Texas at Austin Professor Catherine Boone presented views of China from the African perspective in her paper, The China Model in Africa: A New Brand of Developmentalism.
The second panel, entitled 'Development Models – Models from Muslim Contexts', explored development models from Muslim contexts. The first speaker, Professor Clement Henry of the University of Texas at Austin looked at ‘Islamic’ responses to development, including Islamic finance or a return to a ‘moral economy’, in his paper, Toward an Islamic Model: Moralising Governance and Economic Development.
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| William Hurst's presentation explored the key aspects of China's economic success, and whether it constitutes a new model. |
The second speaker, Michigan State University Professor Mohammad Ayoob presented a paper titled Political Islam, the State and Development: Comparing Iran and Turkey, which compared the development models of the two nations – focusing on the social and political contexts, support bases of both regimes, and the influence of the international community on development models.
The final panel, 'The Role of Governance', looked at concrete cases of the role of governance in development. The first speaker, SOAS Professor Mushtaq Khan, looked at Lessons on Governance Priorities for Developing Countries, in which he presented the argument that the pressure placed on developing nations to meet indicators of good governance may not actually contribute to economic development.
The final panellist, Ishrat Husain, Chairman of the National Commission for Government Reform in Pakistan, presented a paper entitled Governance and Development: Case Study of Pakistan, in which he presented an argument that good governance is essential not just for economic growth, but for the even distribution of economic growth across all spectrums of society. Equal access to government services, Husain argued, is essential to the eradication of poverty in any society.
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| Speakers Clement Henry and Barbara Stallings (Left to Right). |
In the final session, AKU-ISMC Professor Modjtaba Sadria presented some conclusions from the seminar. Concerning the Chinese ‘model’, Sadria stated that over the past 35 years, there have been two separate interpretations. One, which qualifies as neo-Weberian, expressed that China was going to expand due to aspects which are unique to Chinese culture. This argument is also put forward by Vandermeersch in his book Le nouveau monde Sinisé.
The second, more recent interpretation based on an argument published in France, is that there are in fact a number of ‘Chinese modernities’. From this perspective, there is no essentialist view of ‘Chineseness’, and on the contrary, there is a plurality of dynamics, logic and discourses which relate to different Chinese communities around the world.
“In a broader context, if one looks critically, many of the arguments towards or relating to China’s ‘extraordinary’ success story that supposedly has to sustain a Chinese ‘model’, in fact, have continuations with the arguments in the 1970s about Japan.”
Sadria explained that the Chinese ‘model’ has been constructed in the same way that ‘miracles’ and ‘enigmas’ were built around Japan and the four ‘dragons’ (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore). The proliferation of interest about such ‘miracles’ and ‘enigmas’ is rooted in the Orientalist idea of successful, developed nations in the ‘East’ as being the exception, rather than the norm. The Chinese ‘model’, Sadria concluded, should therefore not be seen as an ideology, but as an element of world cultures and globalised development patterns.
“Another interpretation would be recognition that for the latter part of the 20th century we have been living in a multi-centred world, for which China has a policy of active insertion.”
The Seminar on Governance and Development was the first of a number of academic events by the University, commemorating the Golden Jubilee of His Highness the Aga Khan. Over the coming year, AKU-ISMC plans to publish a volume which brings together the papers and conclusions formulated during the Seminar.
Online Resources
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