The Post Development World
I'm Charles Martin-Shields, and here's a first-person description of what this website is about:
Why did I call this publication 'Post Development' and make the landing page a vintage picture of the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire? Grab a cup of tea or coffee, or a cocktail if it's after 17:00 where you are (or wish you were), and I'll explain.
The world most of us lived in until 20 January 2025 was shaped by the Bretton Woods system, created in July 1944 during the Bretton Woods Conference. This gathering of 750 delegates from 44 countries established the global financial system that has existed since the end of the second World War.
The work of the delegates at the Mount Washington Hotel during the summer of 1944 also laid the groundwork for multilateral international development cooperation. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund were established at the Conference, and during the period immediately after World War II the United Nations system as we know it was established. By the 1960s de-colonization was fully underway, and there were new political movements such as Pan Africanism, Pan Americanism, and anti-colonial movements across Asia trying to shape the second half of the 20th century.
All the while, the Cold War was forcing these movements to exist in a bipolar competition between the U.S. and Soviet Union - and forcing much of the cultural and political promise of these post-colonial movements out of the global political sphere of influence. This made development cooperation and international aid more a projection of the interests of the U.S. and Soviet Union than an opportunity for a truly rich expansion of global politics and economic development.
Well, that all changed quite abruptly this past January. While the unrelenting assault on every part of the international order is a travesty, the effects of which will be felt for years at least, this interregnum is also a chance to lay the foundation for an international political order that could deliver on the promise of the post-World War pan-regional movements that emerged out of the crush of colonialism. This is in essence the idea of Post Development as an academic theory, and as the motivation for this publication.
The goal will be to talk about what the future of global development, politics, and culture looks like. To do this, Post Development will bring perspectives from political science, sociology, demography, and urban planning together to inform an active brand of politics, while remaining grounded in good academic and journalistic practice.
Perspectives from around the world
Post Development can't be Post Development without insights from experts around the world. So if you're reading, you can expect to hear from people doing the work of public policy, politics, research, and culture from Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. We'll be covering serious topics with a light tone - and hopefully offering more than just words on the page (a good photo blog is always nice to publish!). If you subscribe, you'll get full access to the website as well as email newsletters about new content when it's available, and the full archive of everything that's been published before.
By signing up for the email newsletter, Post Development can hopefully grow into something rich and fun. At some point there is a plan to offer paid subscriptions, since having a bit of cash on hand means that guest contributors get paid fairly for their contributions - but there's some building to be done first!
Finally, who is Charles?
I'm a researcher. Indeed, my official title is Senior Researcher, and I'm employed at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability in Bonn, Germany. I co-lead the institute's research portfolio on migration, forced displacement, and refugees. In this role I have published extensively on migration and refugee policy, and in 2024 published my book through McGill-Queens University Press on my main research interest: the role of digital technologies in the daily lives of urban refugees.
Aside from research, I dabble in policy advice, fashion, cycling. If I lived nearer to the sea I would go back to racing sailboats, too. At various times I've been in the employ of the tech industry, the World Bank, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and the U.S. Peace Corps. I genuinely like writing, and want to build a space where the intersections between my varied interests can be explored. As proof of my bona fides, I hold a PhD from the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. If you want to know more about my academic work my CV is available here.