Pritish Behuria

Pritish Behuria is an Associate Professor in Politics, Governance and Development at The University of Manchester’s Global Development Institute. His previous experiences include positions at The London School of Economics and Political Science and SOAS, University of London. His research delves into the politics of economic transformation under contemporary globalisation in late developing countries, and he has conducted research in Rwanda, Ethiopia, India, Mauritius, Botswana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and China. He has published over 15 articles in peer-reviewed journals such as World Development, Review of International Political Economy, New Political Economy, African Affairs, and Development and Change. Currently, he holds the position of Reviews Editor for the Journal of Development Studies.

Wiegratz, J., Behuria, P., Laskaridis, C., Pheko, L. L., Radley, B., & Stevano, S. (2023). Common Challenges for All? A Critical Engagement with the Emerging Vision for Post‐pandemic Development Studies. Development and Change.

Behuria, P. (2023). The political economy of a tax haven: the case of Mauritius. Review of International Political Economy, 30(2), 772-800.

The ‘Democratising the Developmental State’ hub provides an opportunity to develop a collective and collaborative discussion among a diverse group of world-leading scholars on issues of political transition and the contemporary challenges associated with late development. It is important to begin by recalling that there are very few countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America that have successfully ‘caught up’ with the industrialized world and undergone structural transformation since the 1950s. Almost all the countries that have done so are in East Asia. As a starting point, I hope the Forum will challenge participants to understand from their own backgrounds why ‘catching up’ remains such a challenge. Crucially, the Forum will provide an opportunity to explore and discuss together how different policy challenges have emerged to support economic transformation. It is widely recognised that the global geopolitical and economic environment for late developing countries may have changed. We hope that the Forum will provide a space to collectively discuss how changes in this environment may have impacted on the ability to sustain political stability and achieve economic development.

All OSUN Forum hubs, in one way or another, examine the state of political transitions around the world, highlighting where democratic space can be fostered or threatened. All hubs also intend to do this from an interdisciplinary and global perspective, focusing our attention on a variety of historical experiences and perspectives from a wide range of countries. As scholars engage with the hubs, I believe it would be beneficial if we could reflect together on how structural dependencies continue to shape both democratic space and economic sovereignty.