Promises Not Kept: Poverty and The Betrayal of Third World Development / Edition 7

by John Isbister

Overview

* Updates include discussion of major initiatives such as the Millennial Development Goals, (MDG) to eliminate global poverty
* Examines changes in international politics and approaches to global terrorism following the US-led military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq
* Extensively revised facts and figures

The seventh edition of this perennial stalwart of the Kumarian Press list continues the discussion of the “new American hegemony” and the “war on terror” that began with the previous edition. In particular, Isbister addresses changes in international politics and the impact on the global order of the US-led military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The author also focuses on major initiatives, such as the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, to confront the issue of world poverty. As with all editions of this vibrant text, Isbister writes with clarity and passion, not only about failed promises, but about hope, human potential, and the belief that a just and equitable world system is attainable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781565492165
Publisher:	Kumarian Press, Inc.
Publication date:	06/28/2006
Edition description:	Seventh Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

John Isbister is Vice-Provost, Faculty Affairs, at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was raised in Ottawa, and studied history and economics as an undergraduate at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. After working with Operation Crossroads Africa in Senegal in 1962, he decided to pursue the study of economic development in low-income countries. He received his doctorate in economics from Princeton University in 1969, then joined the Economics Department of the University of California, Santa Cruz, as a founding fellow of Merrill College, a liberal-arts college which concentrates on the study of the third world. Previously he held the positions of Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Laurentian University and Provost of Merrill College.

Table of Contents

1) Introduction
2) A World of Poverty Five Lives / The Third World / The Extent of World Poverty / The Successes / Different Areas of the Third World Diverge / The Betrayal of Responsibility
3) Explanations of Underdevelopment Modernization Theory / Dependency Theory / Marxism / Limitations of These Approaches / Why Does Poverty Persist? / Assessment / The Theories as Worldviews
4) Imperialism The Creation of the European Empires / The Causes of Imperialism / The Culture of Imperialism / The Foundations of Third World Poverty / The Population Explosion / The Legacy of Imperialism
5) Nationalism and Independence The Origins of Third World Nationalism / The Indian Subcontinent / China / Vietnam / Algeria / Muslim and Jewish Nationalism / Islamic Fundamentalism / Sub-Saharan Africa / Latin America / The Nationalist Identity / The Legacy of Nationalism
6) Economic Development What Is Economic Development? / Population Control / False Paths to Economic Development / Development in the 1980s: Waylaid by the Debt Crisis / The 1990s: Rediscovering the Market and Exports
7) Foreign Policy The End of the Cold War / Foreign Policy during the Cold War: Globalism / The New American Hegemony / The War on Terrorism / The Illusion of the North-South Dialogue / A Constructive Foreign Policy / Military Spending and Policy / Human Rights Policy / Foreign Economic Policy / Can the Rich Cooperate with the Poor?
8) The Future: Justice in an Age of Globalization Globalization / A Hope for Partnership

Editorial Reviews

"A balanced, penetrating, and exciting account of why most people on the planet are poor, who has betrayed the promise [for social change], and what we can do about it."

"A superb overview of third world development... Challenges people in developed nations to accept their share of responsibility for Third World stagnation... Highly recommended for general as well as academic readers."

"Offers provocative answers to the question of increasing world poverty. For those interested in examining and analyzing international development issues, this book would serve as a background."

"Continues to be one of the best short books on the subject of social change in the Third World."

From the Publisher