Nordic Development Studies: Lessons, Pitfalls, and Future Directions

In November 2015, the Third Joint Nordic Conference on Development Research was organised by the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg (Sweden). Development research has a long (and rather strong) history in the Nordic countries. In fact, Nordic development studies have been able to respond continuously (and to some extent jointly) to the challenges over the last 50 years by producing thought-provoking research — as evidenced by a range of new approaches, new methodologies, new theories, extending both mono- and cross/interdisciplinary areas of study and innovative development policies. Between the 1970s and 1990s, there was a fairly strong sense of 'Nordic-ness' among both researchers and policymakers. However, the so-called 'crisis of development studies' in the 1980s and 1990s impacted negatively on Nordic cooperation and both research and policy became more varied and fragmented.