SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Development studies have often grappled with how to bridge the ‘theory/policy divide’ that exists within the discipline between an intellectual focus on historical processes of social change, and more practical objectives aimed at designing interventions to promote economic growth and poverty alleviation. This chapter argues that the rush to engage in Myanmar in the decade following the country’s 2010 General Election led to a focus on ‘doing development’, which out-paced the ability—or willingness—to engage with development scholarship, or to acknowledge how this scholarship challenges the ‘win–win’ development narratives that have been espoused by policymakers and practitioners working in Myanmar. By engaging with the academic literature on development, this chapter argues that any meaningful engagement with the profound challenges of poverty and inequality facing Myanmar must instead address the difficult trade-offs that surround processes of development.