Theory and Practice of Dialogical Community Development: International Perspectives

This book identifies a dialogical tradition of community development and considers how such a tradition shapes practice within contemporary contexts and concerns economic, social, political, cultural and ecological. This tradition builds on key thinkers such as Martin Buber, Paolo Freire and J. P. Lederach and illuminates how their insights can shape the contours of practice. The book's approach contrasts with technical and instrumental approaches to development that fail to take complex systems seriously. It attempts to link theory to practice through a combination of storytelling and theory-reflection, thus grounding complex ideas in practice. It offers a new way of thinking about community development practice that embraces depth, re-imagines community as hospitality, and enfolds community development within a commitment to solidarity. International in scope, the authors draw from their experiences around the world with case studies from Australia, Vanuatu, South Africa, Vietnam, Ecuador, India, El Salvador, South Africa, the UK, New Zealand and the USA. This accessible book provides the philosophical basis of the dialogical approach to and understanding of community development for researchers and students in community development, social work, planning, and practitioners in community organization activities.