This panel addresses Latin America’s evolving role in global development debates, highlighting its unique contributions to rethinking asymmetry, dependency, and post-development narratives such as buen vivir (good living). Despite important progress in poverty reduction and social inclusion, the region continues to face entrenched inequality, structural heterogeneity, and dependence on financialized capitalism linked to U.S. and Chinese influence. These tensions are compounded by the rise of digital capitalism, propaganda warfare, and authoritarian pressures that challenge Latin America’s agency in the 21st century.

The working group seeks to provide a space for dialogue, debate, and collaboration among national and international specialists interested in Latin America’s development trajectories within a rapidly transforming global order. Multidisciplinary in nature, the panel combines analytical, critical, and proactive perspectives to examine the region’s achievements and ongoing vulnerabilities. It emphasizes Latin America’s intellectual tradition and its significant influence on the construction of development studies and the social sciences more broadly.

Our discussions will focus on three core areas of analysis: (1) the economics and politics of development, (2) sustainability and ecological challenges, and (3) society, culture, and governance. Together, these perspectives aim to deepen understanding of the region’s contested pathways toward resilience and transformation.

Extra comments: The panel discussion accepts proposals in both English and Spanish

This panel is organised by the EADI Working Group on "Latin American Development Studies"