International Development and Futures - Guest Lecture
This guest lecture was designed to be delivered to a mix of undergraduate and post-graduate political science students at Thammasat University in Thailand. The goal of the lecture was to give students an overview of Futures and Foresight as well as provide opportunities to experience foresight tools as a mechanism to ideate development projects.
Exploring Future Possibilities in Global Development Practice
In April 2024, I was invited to lead a participatory lecture-workshop at Thammasat University as part of The Political Economy of Development course. The session brought together futures thinking and international development in a way that was interactive, systems-aware, and gently disruptive.
We didn’t just talk about development, we questioned its trajectories, explored its contradictions, and imagined its possible futures.
What We Did
The session began with a brief introduction to Futures Studies, covering foundational concepts like Scenarios and Polak’s images of the future, before moving into hands-on participatory work.
Using tools like the Futures Triangle (developed by Sohail Inayatullah), students worked in small groups to explore:
What’s pushing change in international development?
What hopes, ideals, and futures are pulling us forward?
What’s holding us back—and why?
From these inputs, we crafted scenarios for the future of development in 2040 - ranging from wild-card best cases to cautionary worst-case narratives. These weren’t just theoretical exercises; they were emotionally rich, politically charged, and grounded in real tensions: AI in aid delivery, cultural erasure, climate breakdown, grassroots resurgence.
Why It Mattered
This was futures work not as prediction, but as provocation, designed to stretch thinking and introduce new lenses for understanding international development.
By combining theory, systems thinking, and collective imagination, the session gave students space to question dominant narratives, name unspoken dynamics, and consider alternative futures that center equity, culture, and complexity.
Designed for Engagement
This was never just a lecture. It was built to be interactive, curious, and unfinished—with enough structure to guide inquiry, and enough openness to invite exploration.
From a practical side: the session was grounded in accessible tools, visual facilitation, and group-based dialogue—making it easy for students to engage no matter their background.