Seminar "Sustainability as Traditionalism? Contradictions and Controversies of the Development Agend

The Institute of Sociology of the CAS and the Department of Sociology of the Institute of Sociological Studies of Charles University are pleased to invite you to the spring cycle of Thursday Sociological Seminars.

India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and is often regarded as one of the world's future superpowers. However, its breakneck economic development is also threatening large sections of underprivileged and marginalized members of society, not to mention the ecological balance itself. It is therefore not surprising that the emphasis on inclusive or sustainable development, with its focus on solutions based on local traditions of human-nature coexistence, has become an essential part of election campaigns and government policies in recent years.

This seminar will explore the ideological underpinnings of India's development agenda and how it has changed over time, as well as the contradictions and controversies that their ideological anchoring necessarily entails. It will focus on current trends in the Indian development debate and the reception of major challenges such as climate change, land degradation and food self-sufficiency. Particular attention will then be paid to efforts to find indigenous development and environmental models based on Indian traditions that could serve as a more environmentally friendly alternative to modern industrialism.

Jiří Krejčík is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Political Philosophy and Globalization Research, Institute of Philosophy, CAS. He is interested in the intersection of tradition and modernity in contemporary Indian political discourse, focusing on environmental issues. Last year, he completed a three-month internship at the Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute in Islamabad.

The seminar is free to attend, registration is required HERE to receive the Zoom link.