O. P. Dwivedi

The Challenges of Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is nothing new. Biological and historical evidence indicate that sustainability is built into the functioning of natural and man-made systems. Indeed, animals, plants, and humans have continually submitted to these rules by design, force, or by choice. Tribal communities still exhibit sustainability as a core principle in their daily lifestyles. What is new about the idea of sustainable development is its emergence as an explicit paradigm rather than a default system of adaptation or a last resort. The need for an explicit paradigm emerged from the loss of traditional livelihoods, once humans began to exercise their know-how to alter or control nature. As a consumption-intensive lifestyle began to overshadow the practice of sustainability, the need to find a paradigm that could reverse the course of events became necessary. In this chapter, we discuss the evolution of sustainable development as a paradigm, followed by a brief discussion of its various characteristics. We conclude by identifying the challenges we face in making sustainability a “way of life.”

The Transition from Development Administration to New Public Management: an Interpretative Exploration

The internationalization of the theory and practice of public administration is a phenomenon closely related to the creation and evolution of the modern world system. Its roots are found in the European colonial expansion into the New World and subsequently Asia and Africa. The overseas empires and administrative systems that evolved there corresponded to particular modalities of accumulation in different historical periods. In the earlier cases of seventeenth-century Spain and Portugal, the mold was mercantile, while in the cases of British, French, Dutch, or Belgian expansion in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, modern capitalism prevailed.

Poverty and Sustainable Livelihoods

This chapter explores the issue of poverty and how conventional ways of managing development have not only failed to extricate the poor from their predicament, but have generally excluded them from development altogether. It also analyzes both the conditions of economic insecurity and the nature of the global economic regime that manages and nurtures such conditions. To approach these tasks in a systematic way, we will concentrate upon the relationships among poverty, livelihoods, and globalization.

Introduction: Managing Development in a Global Context

This book is largely an interpretative examination and analysis of the role of management and organization in human development. It will explore the historical record; the current global, regional, and national characteristics of present developmental and managerial dilemmas; and possible future scenarios. Of particular interest is the analysis of the relationship among mutual vulnerability, human insecurity, and de-development. In this sense, our work brings into question many of the prevailing linear and unidirectional understandings of development, management, politics, and globalization. One of our concerns is how to connect the copious amount of theoretical literature and the various practices in order to understand development as a long-range process involving continuity and change. We also examine the development-management challenges facing both the global South and its wealthy but equally vulnerable Western counterpart.

Democracy, Governability, and Governance

The term “government” has a long historical lineage, dating back to the origins of civilization. Etymologically it is derived from the Greek word kyvernites, meaning steersman, pilot, or rudder. The word also conveys the notion of power (as in kratos), and is also the root of the modern term “cybernetics.” In essence it means the structures of decision-making and the procedures by which such decisions are implemented (or not implemented). Aristotle (384–322 BC) in his Politics was concerned with what makes government virtuous or venal; in other words what is good government.

The Ethics of Development: Management in a Global Era

The term “ethics” comes from the Greek word ethos which means accepted customs and traditions of a society; later, in Roman times, the term was translated into Latin as mores, which is the root of the words morals and morality. Sometimes, these two terms, “ethics” and “morality” are used as virtual synonyms. However, they mean different things. Ethics refers to fundamental values and principles underlying human action; morality refers to the observance of socially acceptable and customary practices. Nowadays, the common use of these terms is cast in terms of what is good or evil, right and wrong, as well as the appropriate conduct of people in a society (Engel, 1990: 6)

Globalization and the Transnationalization of the State

Since the 1960s, reciprocating transformations in the world order have converged, resulting first in growing internationalization and subsequently the globalization of production, power, and communications at an extraordinary rate. In addition, the penetrability of boundaries brought about by the Cold War, combined with the emergence of transnational corporations, has induced a weakening of national sovereignty in all but a small group of powerful nation-states. And even in some of these very same dominant nations, internationalization and regionalization have produced a kind of limited statehood. These same forces have also affected the nature of the development process itself and that of the public and private organizations that manage this development.

Trade, Labor, and Human Rights in a Global Context

Perhaps the most significant feature of globalization is its reliance on trade. Fueled by technological advances, world trade is not only intensifying but is fast transforming the social and cultural fabric of even the remotest of nations. Each year,

Marginalization and Exclusion

7.3 trillion dollars worth of manufactured goods and

Some Reflections on the Well-being of Nations

1.8 trillion dollars worth of commercial services are exported. In 2003, the real merchandise growth was 4.5 percent and in 2004, it is recorded as a solid 8.5 percent. Elites in countries with mutual trading interests have formed trade regimes as a way to facilitate growth and enhance their role in the global trade market. Table 5.1 indicates a significant increase in trade in 2003 in countries participating in major trade regimes.