Understanding Development is the ideal introduction to the major issues and critical debates about development in the contemporary world. Perfectly suited to students, it offers an accessible overview of the key topics that have come to define this crucial subject. Drawing on a wide range of case studies from across the globe, the book explores such areas as: health and population growth conflict and security global inequality and poverty fair trade and trade liberalization gender and education foreign aid and debt sustainability and the environment This issues-driven text has been designed to offer something different to the standard introductions to the topic, focusing on the debates that have generated the most interest and passion among practitioners and non-practitioners alike. Always attentive to the contested and plural nature of the field, it makes the case for a genuinely interdisciplinary approach which takes full account of the impact of globalization. Both comprehensive and critical, Understanding Development is the essential guide to one of the most challenging subjects of our age.