An online short course on “The Challenges of Development in Muslim Societies”

This two-day course introduces participants to the different approaches to development and how these approaches inform development policies. Participants will be able to share their own understanding of development and explore current datasets on development indicators to investigate the experiences of Muslim-majority countries (MMCs). We will also look at the historical evidence to see what can be learnt from today’s industrialised or high-income countries, and what this implies for the types of policies to promote development in MMCs, including the roles of government, private sector, civil society and NGOs.

At the end of the course participants should be able to:

• Identify the different definitions and measurements of development
• Describe the main approaches to development
• Understand how development has occurred historically
• Apply this understanding of development to frame some of the development challenges facing Muslim societies

Jeff Tan is Associate Professor of Political Economy and Head of Education at AKU-ISMC. He has a PhD in Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. He works on the intersection of politics and economics, and how social forces and economic imperatives shape policies and institutions and impact economic development. His research interests centre on privatisation, industrialisation, corruption, urban infrastructure (including water and sanitation), entrepreneurship and Islamisation. He has been a consultant to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, and is currently principal investigator on a British Academy-funded project on community-based water management in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.

04 June| 10:00 – 12:30 (London time)

05 June | 10:00 – 12:30 (London time)

The course will be delivered via Zoom. Readings and further details will be provided later upon registration.

This course will not be recorded and programme fees is non-refundable.