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
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Essex, Jamey. (2008). The Neoliberalization of Development: Trade Capacity Building and Security at the US Agency for International Development. Antipode, 40 (2), 229-251.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/poliscipub/3
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."