Anthropology and inclusive development

Although the term inclusive development is still rare in anthropological texts, it is a key element of anthropology’s relation to development. Concerns of in/exclusion, unequal power relations and (lack of) voice are central here. Anthropology’s encounter with development primarily focuses on a critical engagement with ‘big D-development’, -post-war practices and policies of intervention and ‘improvement’- and ‘little d-development’ - as a geographically uneven, contradictory and historical process. Through ongoing discussions in anthropology on social exclusion, natural resource management, security and the role of business in neoliberal development, we review anthropology’s engagement with inclusive development. We conclude that anthropology’s prime contribution to inclusive development is the understanding that processes of in- and exclusion are not only caused by the outside interventions of ‘big D-development’, but also shaped and created by people’s own actions, desires and cultural preferences.
Keywords: anthropology, social exclusion, natural resource management, security, role of business