Dislocation and Resettlement in Development

Book excerpt: Challenging the more conventional approaches to dislocation and resettlement that are the usual focus of discussion on the topic, this book offers a unique theory of dislocation in the form of primitive accumulation. Interrogating the ‘reformist-managerial’ and ‘radical-movementist’ approaches, it historicizes and politicizes the event of dislocation as a moment to usher in capitalism through the medium of development. Such a framework offers alternative avenues to rethinking dislocation and resettlement, and indeed the very idea of development. Arguing that dislocation should not be seen as a necessary step towards achieving progress - as it is claimed in the development discourse - the authors show that dislocation emerges as a socio-political constituent of constructing capitalism. This book will be of interest to academics working on Development Studies, especially on issues relating to the political economy of development and globalization.