Development Studies with Reference to Emerging Economies MPhil/PhD

King's College London, University of London

The Department of International Development (DID) at King's has a different agenda to traditional development studies in the UK and wider afield. It specifically focuses on locally-driven development in 'emerging economies' and the Global South more generally. Growth rates and global power balances are changing rapidly, giving rise to new questions about the global economy, national development and the promotion of sustainable and equitable growth. We seek to understand the sources of successful development and the major development challenges many countries continue to face by exploring context-specific economic, social and political change rather than applying prescriptive models of development. We have six research groups: - Climate, Environment, and Uneven Development - Global Capitalism, Power & Uneven Development - Global Production, Finance, and Labour - Inequalities, Vulnerabilities, and Development Policy - Social Justice - Technology, Innovation, and Economic Development Our research expertise spans political science, sociology, social anthropology, development economics, history, geography and management. We have strong regional expertise and collaborations in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, SE Asia, China and India. Our doctoral students challenge conventional understandings of development, particularly by drawing on the perspectives of actors, institutions and ideas in the Global South. They work with our staff who have expertise in political science, development economics, political economy, sociology, anthropology, management studies and development studies. Our supervisors accept original projects that explore how development processes occur in different ways and at different scales and levels, from global to local to familial. The work of our doctoral students seeks to understand theoretical, empirical or methodological gaps in their chosen area. Under the guidance of their supervisor each student is encouraged to acquire disciplinary training relevant to their research question, and to develop an enquiring appreciation of what other disciplines may bring to their field of study.