This volume is an essential one-stop reference for anyone with an interest in development studies. The editors of this new volume have brought together an impressive range of international experts in the field to present an interdisciplinary overview of contemporary development studies. With more than 100 chapters dealing with both theory and practice, the Companion is an accessible guide for students and a direct route into the key issues of development studies. Divided into ten sections covering all the important areas of the field, including gender, violence and insecurity, environment, and agents of development, this timely new text provides easy-to-use summaries of all major issues encountered in this fast-changing area.