Unplanned Development: Tracking Change in South-East Asia

Rigg offers a trenchant critique of the hubris of grand theories that claim to know and predict the direction of historical change, showing how they are often misguided or completely wrong. He exposes the strangeness of our stubborn commitment to planned change, despite its remarkably poor track record. Through richly empirical accounts of what actually happened in Southeast Asia…he shows that the driving forces were context-specific and often surprising. His book is a manifesto for grounded scholarship and a more modest style of intervention, attentive to the what, where, how, and why of the little and big shifts through which history is made, and to the desires and practices of the people who make it. A stimulating read – highly recommended.
Tania Li, University of Toronto

This is a book with a powerful and disruptive message. Above all, Jonathan Rigg’s superbly crafted and thoroughly documented critique warns us against prediction and prescription in the study and practice of development. This is a celebration of human agency and diversity, and also a warning for all those inclined to take a one-size-fits-all approach to understanding or shaping social, economic, political and environmental change in Asia.
Philip Hirsch, The University of Sydney