Rethinking Uneven Development

This pioneering book appraises earlier literature and proposes methodological, theoretical and analytical tools for understanding the uneven evolution of development. Michael Dunford explores how global development and international, national, regional and social inequalities have been shaped by centuries of colonisation, imperialism, industrialisation and the rise and fall of hegemonic powers. Advocating for an interdisciplinary approach to the topic, Dunford presents a macro-geographical and macro-historical account of the waves of uneven development that have resulted in an emerging multi-polar world, with Asia returning to the centre of the global economy. Chapters cover a wide range of theoretical perspectives from political economy, structuralist and developmentalist to dependency theories, and from classical location theories to contemporary geographical economics and economic geography. Dunford identifies economic and political mechanisms that drive the forces shaping the uneven course of development and emphasises the dynamics of investment and the roles of state sovereignty and governance capacity. Rethinking Uneven Development is a vital resource for students and scholars of human geography, development studies, urban and regional studies and political economy.