Ilan Kapoor (born 1959) is a professor of Critical Development Studies at the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He is an influential postcolonial scholar, considered the first to bring both psychoanalysis and postcolonial analysis to the field of

Development Studies Development studies is an interdisciplinary branch of social science. Development studies is offered as a specialized master's degree in a number of reputed universities around the world. It has grown in popularity as a subject of study since the ...

. He is the author of seven books and numerous articles on postcolonial politics, psychoanalysis, participatory development, and celebrity humanitarianism.

Work on participation

Kapoor first came to prominence in the early 2000s through a series of influential journal articles on

participatory development Participatory development (PD) seeks to engage local populations in development projects. Participatory development has taken a variety of forms since it emerged in the 1970s, when it was introduced as an important part of the "basic needs approac ...

(the practice of involving beneficiaries of international development programs in decision-making). Kapoor is critical of such a practice, arguing that while it looks noble and promising (when adopted by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

or any other international agency), it is often an excuse to further

neoliberal Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...

policies, and can even result in authoritarian and exclusionary practices. In 2004, Kapoor's critique helped frame an issue of ''

Current Issues in Comparative Education ''Current Issues in Comparative Education'' is an international online, open-access academic journal publishing diverse opinions of academics, practitioners, and students in the field of comparative and international education. The journal shares ...

'' (published at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Work on postcolonialism

Kapoor's 2008 book, ''The Postcolonial Politics of Development'', is a collection of essays written between 2002-2007. The book is one of the first to analyze development issues from a postcolonial perspective. It has received many positive reviews. Kapoor examines recent international development policy areas (governance, human/gender rights, participation), carrying out a cultural and political economy critique of them. He argues that development practitioners and westernized elites are often complicit in perpetuating contemporary forms of imperialism. The book concludes by arguing for the need for a radical self-reflexivity on the part of development workers, institutions and academics; while at the same time emphasizing the political strategies of marginalized groups that can lead to greater democratic dialogue. Ilan Kapoor is the brother of artist

Anish Kapoor Sir Anish Mikhail Kapoor (born 12 March 1954) is a British sculptor specializing in installation art and conceptual art. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor attended the elite all-boys Indian boarding school The Doon School, before moving to the United Ki ...

. The latter has designed the book covers for Kapoor's 2008, 2020 and 2021 books. In September 2017, Kapoor resigned as editorial board member of the journal ''Third World Quarterly'' (along with roughly half of the journal's editorial board members) in protest against the journal publishing an article making a "case for colonialism."

Work on celebrity humanitarianism

Kapoor's book, ''Celebrity Humanitarianism: The Ideology of Global Charity'' (2012), is one of the first to critically assess the relatively new phenomenon of global celebrity philanthropy (by the likes of

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

Geldof Geldof is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bob Geldof (born 1951), Irish singer, songwriter, author, and political activist * Peaches Geldof (1989–2014), British model and presenter and journalist, daughter of Bob Geldof * P ...

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...

George Soros George Soros (born György Schwartz; August 12, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist. , he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundat ...

). The author carries out a stinging critique of celebrity charity work and corporate philanthropy. He shows how this charity is not just self-promoting, but also helps justify and worsen the global inequality brought about by capitalism. Kapoor also draws attention to what he sees as a new phenomenon of "spectacular NGOs," not-for-profit development organizations such as

Save Darfur The Save Darfur Coalition was an advocacy group that attempted "to raise public awareness and mobilize a massive response to the atrocities in Sudan's western region of Darfur." The headquarters was located in Washington, D.C. It was a coalition ...

or Medecins Sans Frontieres (

Doctors Without Borders Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

) that don’t just get celebrity endorsements but seek out celebrity status themselves. He takes them to task for being more interested in branding, spectacle and short-term results than addressing broader and long-term problems of social inequality and political inclusion.

Work on psychoanalytic politics

Kapoor's books, ''Confronting Desire: Psychoanalysis and International Development'' (2020) and ''Psychoanalysis and the GlObal'' (2018), investigate how the unconscious "speaks out" in various guises: from obsessions about growth and poverty to the perverse seductions of racism and over-consumption, from disavowal of the climate crisis to the social and cultural traumas engendered by globalization. For Kapoor, the unpredictability and excess of unconscious desire are not only the source of "irrationality" but also a political resource for breaking out of the global capitalist status quo. He examines, for example, the political and psychoanalytic bases of revolutionary movements such as the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...

. Kapoor's book ''Universal Politics'' (2021), co-authored with Zahi Zalloua, argues for a negative universality rooted in social antagonism (shared experiences of marginalization) and envisions a common solidarity of the excluded. For the authors, such a conception of universality avoids the trap of neocolonial universalism and the narrow particularism of identity politics. The book examines what a universal politics could look like in such key current global sites of struggle as

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, workers' struggles, the Palestinian question, the refugee crisis,

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

, #MeToo, political Islam, Morales's universalist state in Bolivia, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, and

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Kapoor's 2023 co-authored book, ''Global Libidinal Economy'', is the first to examine international political economy with a psychoanalytic lens. The book focuses on key political economy categories such as consumption, production, trade, financialization, and ecology, claiming for example that consumption is not only a way of satisfying a need but aimed at soothing a deeply held sense of loss; or that capital is accompanied by unconscious "drive" that seduces and beguiles in the service of endless profit-making. The book also examines the gender and racial dimensions of global political economy, suggesting that unconscious desire/enjoyment of domination is integral to

capital accumulation Capital accumulation is the dynamic that motivates the pursuit of profit, involving the investment of money or any financial asset with the goal of increasing the initial monetary value of said asset as a financial return whether in the form ...

. Kapoor's 2024 co-authored book, ''Rethinking Development Politics'', examines development politics with a psychoanalytic lens, reassessing it in relation to

Modernization Modernization theory or modernisation theory holds that as societies become more economically modernized, wealthier and more educated, their political institutions become increasingly liberal democratic and rationalist. The "classical" theories ...

, Postdevelopment/Decoloniality, and Marxist

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

. The book distinguishes the psychoanalytic approach from the latter schools of thought by focusing on present-day case studies, including digital and green modernization,

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

, neo

populism Populism is a essentially contested concept, contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the "common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently a ...

, anti-racist training, and radical politics in Iran's

Women, Life, Freedom Woman, Life, Freedom (, (), ) is a popular political Kurdish slogan used in both the Kurdish independence and democratic confederalist movements. The slogan became a rallying cry during the protests which occurred in Iran as a response to the ...

movement.

Recognition & Awards

Kapoor's work has been positively reviewed and endorsed, often by famous global academics. In assessing his 2008 book, ''The Postcolonial Politics of Development'', the ''Journal of Peace Research'' states, “ is excellent book translates postcolonial theory into existing discourses of Development Studies ... is book represents a small theoretical revolution that will hopefully make academia better prepared to grasp the meanings of politics in the postcolonial world.” On Kapoor's work on psychoanalytic politics, philosopher and global public intellectual

Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek ( ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian Marxist philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is the international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, Global Distin ...

writes that it "brilliantly confirms Jacques Lacan’s thesis that the unconscious is political … Ilan Kapoor's

ork Ork or ORK may refer to: * Ork (folklore), a mountain demon of Tyrol folklore * ''Ork'' (video game), a 1991 game for the Amiga and Atari ST systems * Ork (''Warhammer 40,000''), a fictional species in the ''Warhammer 40,000'' universe * '' Ork!' ...

is obligatory reading, not only for those who want to penetrate the dark underside of our social life but also for those who want to bring out the economic and political mediation of our most intimate traumas.” Similarly, global postcolonial critic and academic,

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (; born 24 February 1942) is an Indian scholar, literary theorist, and feminist critic. She is a University Professor at Columbia University and a founding member of the establishment's Institute for Comparative ...

(

), sees Kapoor's research as “required reading,” noting that “ vements for change must take it into account.” And the University of Sussex’s Department of Development Studies has stated that Kapoor is “one of the greatest critical thinkers" in Development Studies. Kapoor's 2023 co-authored book, ''Global Libidinal Economy'', is the subject of special book forums in the journals, ''Distinktion: Journal of Social Theory'' and ''Rethinking Marxism''. Kapoor's co-authored 2024 book, ''Rethinking Development Politics'', is the subject of a special book forum in the ''Canadian Journal of Development Studies''. Kapoor has been awarded prizes for "Excellence in Research" and in teaching at his university (

References

External links

Personal WebsiteFaculty Profile at York University Academia.edu Profile Kapoor-Wheeler debate, "Should celebrities promote charities?" in ''New Internationalist'' 1 September 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapoor, Ilan 1959 births Living people 21st-century Canadian Jews Canadian people of Indian descent Academic staff of York University Environmental studies scholars Indian Jews Canadian people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Canadian people of Punjabi descent