The Construction of Global North Benevolence

Development Discourse and Constitutional Law

Abstract

This article therefore seeks to participate in remedying the dearth of research on the topic. My analysis will focus on the ways in which national development law – a fortiori when it concerns constitutional law – participates in shaping Global North subjects. More specifically, I will explore the potential role of development law in constructing Global North subjects as particularly solidary, benevolent, and generous. To survey this question, I will first offer an overview of the theoretical framework that I mobilize in my analysis by explaining the main theses of post-development thought. I will then argue that national development law constitutes a particularly potent form of development discourse that contributes to shaping Global North national narratives. This is especially the case of constitutional law, which is central to national identity-building processes. I will then seek to explore the ways in which national development law shapes collective identities and participates in creating benevolent, or charitable, subjects, using Switzerland as a case study. Development cooperation not only appears in Swiss law as early as 1976 but has also been anchored in the country’s constitution in 1999. I will seek to explain the extraordinary importance of development in Swiss law and discuss the ways in which the country’s development law helped cement the development discourse that ultimately played a significant role in shaping Swiss subjects.