Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2008

Publication Title

Antipode

Volume

40

Issue

2

First Page

229

Keywords

Neoliberalization, Development, Security, Trade liberalization, US Agency for International Development (USAID)

Last Page

251

Abstract

This paper examines recent changes at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) regarding the connections between trade liberalization, development, and security. USAID has adopted “trade capacity building” as a framework for development, and, in conjunction with new US national security discourses, now operates under the assumption that underdevelopment is a source of state weakness that produces insecurity. I argue that these changes in how USAID understands and undertakes development constitute the neoliberalization of development. In accordance with these shifts, USAID has redefined critical aspects of its development mission, undergone internal restructuring, and altered its relationship with other US state institutions and capital. The actual prospects for achieving security or development are slim, however, as the agency remains wedded to definitions of both that suggest the only acceptable role for the state lies in facilitating further neoliberalization and promoting the stability of capitalist class relations. An overview of USAID’s historical development, and a closer examination of the place of food aid and food security in the agency’s development work, demonstrate this

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-8330.2008.00590.x

Comments

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: The Neoliberalization of Development: Trade Capacity Building and Security at the US Agency for International Development, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8330.2008.00590.x. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving."

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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