Post-development theory and the question of alternatives: a view from Africa

Post-development theorists have declared development obsolete and bankrupt and have called for ‘alternatives to development’. What do they mean by such calls and what should be the African response to such calls? In this paper I will attempt to address three important questions: first, what is meant by post-development theory's call for ‘alternatives to development’? Second, why consider post-development theory from an African perspective? Third, what contributions can a consideration of African difference and diversity make towards debate on ‘alternatives to development’? I conclude by arguing that increased consideration of the African experience would be valuable for all who are seeking alternative ways of dealing with the problems that development purports to address.     

After post-development

Along with ‘anti-development’ and ‘beyond development’, post-development is a radical reaction to the dilemmas of development. Post-development focuses on the underlying premises and motives of development; what sets it apart from other critical approaches is that it rejects development. The question is whether this is a tenable and fruitful position. Taken up first in this article are major overt positions of post-development—the problematisation of poverty, the portrayal of development as Westernisation, and the critique of modernism and science. The argument then turns to discourse analysis of development; it is argued that, in post-development, discourse analysis from a methodology turns into an ideology. Next the difference between alternative development and ‘alternatives to development’ is examined. The reasons why this difference is made out to be so large are, in my interpretation, anti-managerialism and dichotomic thinking. The article closes with a discussion of the politics of post-development and a critical assessment.     

Fostering the post-development debate: the Latin American concept of tecnologia social

This essay revisits the historical development of a concept – tecnologia social – as one avenue for discussing alternatives to post-development, arguing that the Western-based historical path of technology development is one of the main sources of growing human impoverishment, social inequalities and economic dependency. The concept of tecnologia social points towards political processes that create opportunities to redefine the arrangements among social groups, artefacts and methods used in everyday life, particularly for production and consumption. Because the post-development debate has been criticised for formulating a sound and strong critique to mainstream development but failing to propose concrete empirical alternatives, we seek to foster the debate through the Latin American concept of tecnologia social.     

The Development Mandate of International Institutions: Where Did it Come From?

What was the origin of the commitment of international institutions to promote economic development in poorer countries? A popular view in “post-development” scholarship has been that this international development project was born with Truman’s Point Four program of 1949. This article suggests instead that it emerged for the first time in a significant way out of the Bretton Woods conference of 1944, with US-Latin American relations in the early 1940s acting as a key incubator for this innovation in international governance. This historical reinterpretation leads to a different view of the initial content of the international development project and the politics that generated it. It also challenges those who have downplayed the significance of the development content of the Bretton Woods negotiations.     

The post-development impasse and the state in India

After discussing the various points of departure suggested by scholars of development, this paper argues that, in the context of India, one way out of the post-development impasse lies in shifting the focus from development politics to the workings of the developmental state on the ground, and to change the methodological vantage point to ethnography. It is suggested that this change in approach would provide fresh insights into the workings of the developmental state and into the process of development in India.     

Post-development,Foucault and the colonisation metaphor

Post-development, the most recent radical reaction to the problems of postwar development efforts, has been the focus of both strident criticism and restrained defence in Third World Quarterly . This article shows that addressing post-development's shortcomings is more useful than dismissing or limiting its potential. By using the work of Foucault, one of post-development's theoretical departure points, a clear distinction is drawn between the operation of power in colonial and development eras. This requires a shift away from repressive views of power, ideas that a singular force directs development, and the colonisation metaphor used by some post-development writers. This article then shows that combining Foucault's notion of dispositif with his concept of normalisation is useful for understanding the operation of power in the postwar development project, and for comprehending how power operates through the World Bank. In this way a critical engagement with post-development can improve our understanding and analysis of development.     

The seductions of determinism in development theory: Foucault's functionalism

Abstract

In 1985 David Booth wrote a seminal article in which he argued that development theory, mostly Marxist but also modernisation theory, was out of touch with reality, incapable of generating viable policy, and riven with meta-theoretical errors. He recommended a return to empirical case studies, the comparative method, and an awareness of the problems of functionalist and essentialist argument. In the ensuing decade a further range of solutions was offered to bail development theory out of trouble: micro-theory, participatory action research, postmodernism, post-development theory, postcolonialism. Twenty years later the dominance of Marxist and neo-Marxist theories has been replaced by an equally pervasive hegemony of Foucauldian discourse. In signaling the presence of a new impasse, there is much talk of ‘the poverty of post-development’. The intriguing question to ask is: what can development theorists and Third World intellectuals learn about themselves in this constant refrain?     

Countdown to Ecstasy: development as eschatology

This paper examines the antinomies posed by a consideration of development as eschatology. Development is generally conceived as a grand narrative with humanity progressing inevitably to a redemptive goal, whether this be revolution or Rostovian consumerism. It is eschatological in structure. This opens development theory up to critique. Grand narratives premised on an end of history are open to criticism as utopian and exclusory through setting a limit—they conceive of a redemptive ending of time, but repress those excluded from the vision. However, this eschatological structure may also have a function in the shape of the Derridian conception of ‘the promise’. This concept refers to a need to posit a closure that incorporates a redemptive, Messianic moment, which impels us to pursue the promise of that moment of development. Thus, the eschatological structure of development incorporates a risk of utopianism/exclusory violence—but we need the Messianic moment in order to conceptualise the goal that drives us to strive for progress.     

The Developer's Self: a non-deterministic Foucauldian frame

Recent development studies literature has begun to consider the developer's self. This welcome enlargement of the field deserves to be deepened and extended by moving beyond opposition to post-development critics, and by articulating an explicit theoretical frame for examining developers' selves. By exploring Foucault's suggestion that modern approaches to knowledge and selfhood may be entwined through developmentalism, this paper proposes a flexible and non-deterministic cultural–historical framework for considering developers' selves. Foucault's analyses of relations of power and subjectivity provide strategies for examining developers' selves, but this does not suggest that such selves can be read off the proposed framework. Examining developers' selves is necessarily a reflective ethical task, and one which requires engaging the external relations that constitute the self. Foucault provides valuable resources for this task, but there is also a need to extend upon and complement a Foucauldian approach. Pursuing our new-found interest in developers' selves by working through and beyond Foucault promises to open new professional futures and possibilities for development practice.     

CSR for Development Through Sport: examining its potential and limitations

Recent publications have highlighted the growth of sport as a vehicle in deploying corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes or for disseminating international development initiatives. However, very little has been written on the considerable increase of the use of sport with corporate social responsibility to further social and economic development. This will expand as a range of CSR for development initiatives are being launched to coincide with mega-sports events in the coming years, starting with the 2010 football World Cup. This article addresses this gap by charting the ways in which sport is being used by businesses (ranging from multinational corporations to sports federations) as part of discrete development initiatives. It highlights the opportunities (notably developing partnerships and reaching those alienated from traditional development) and limitations associated with this. Limitations form around Stefano Ponte et al's typology of CSR initiatives, which is used to highlight the fact that many projects are poorly linked to core business objectives and are therefore less likely to be taken seriously and succeed. A lack of evaluation and the tarnished reputation of sport are other problems associated with CSR for development through sport.     

Development: The devil we know?

Post-development theories have been accused of not having a future programme, and a number of authors has concluded that we are better off pursuing development as we know it. But the lack of instrumentality is not in itself a weighty argument against the analysis. At its best, 'post-development' offers an explanation of why so many development projects seem to fail. Two contributions are emphasised here: that transformation through development is linked to the agencies of elites, and that technical constraints imposed on developers shape the way in which they construct the problem. There is a need for extending the analysis, however. Including how development interventions are transformed in encounters with target populations gives a less rigid picture of the power of development, and can expose some of the problematic premises on which development interventions are based. In this way, post-development can offer a contribution to the practitioners of development.     

Effectiveness of two technical assistance efforts in differing environments

Two privately sponsored international technical assistance programmes were studied. The programmes placed well‐trained young men in staff and middle management positions in overseas organizations involved in economic development work. Although the two programmes were very similar, the first was successful and the second was far less so. The differing outcomes are interpreted in terms of (1) the greater need in the first environment for the type of assistance offered, (2) the greater difficulties of screening‐out unpromising work opportunities in the second environment, and (3) the different conditions associated with role development in the two environments. The first factor is seen as the most fundamental and as a contributor to the others. The major implication from this analysis is the need for emphasis on the processes of designing appropriate programmes for specific environments, rather than emphasis on specific ‘successful’ programme designs.     

The ontological politics of (in-)equality: a new research approach for post-development

This article aims to add a new line of research to the post-development school of thought. Drawing on the many evident yet rarely noticed parallels between post-development and (post-)anarchism, I develop an understanding of ‘anarchistic post-development’ as a politics based on what French philosopher Jacques Rancière calls ‘the presupposition of equality’. I further connect this with Arturo Escobar and Marisol De la Cadena’s concept of political ontology, suggesting that we can make sense of and analyse both contemporary ‘Development’ projects as well as anarchistic post-developmental ‘alternatives to Development’ through the lens of what I call ‘the ontological politics of (in-)equality’. To substantiate my points, I will draw on the recent case of a Mâori tribe who won a historical legal battle to declare the Whanganui River a living entity.     

Towards a framework for measuring local government return on investment in arts and cultural development

Local governments make a significant annual investment in arts and cultural development programmes. However, the practicalities of measuring the return on this investment have been largely overlooked by researchers, and investigations into return on investment have frequently focused on the economic return. Here, it is argued that intrinsic social and cultural returns on investment are equally important. A further issue is that measurement frameworks have often taken an outputs-based approach, seeking to evaluate the performance of one-off events rather than measuring the outcomes or impact of the total investment in arts and cultural development over the life of a policy or strategy. This paper therefore takes a broader, outcomes-based approach and offers a practical evaluation framework. An implementation-ready method is presented which will allow local government policy-makers to provide evidence of medium- and long-term outcomes and impacts of their arts and cultural development programmes and weigh this against their investment.     

A Comparative Perspective on Executive Development: Trends in 11 European Countries

Senior officials in public organizations have a variety of training needs. Yet, the reduction in training budget is often a primary means of improving budget balance. This contradiction calls for a comparative investigation into executive development. Focusing on eleven European administrative systems, the paper investigates (i) whether bureaucracies lead the way, or lag behind, in the development of specialized training programmes, (ii) whether there is a widespread understanding that specific topics are important for training, and (iii) whether senior officials vary in their perception of the usefulness of training for current posts and for promotion. Based on an institutional analysis, a mail survey and e´lite interviews with senior civil servants, the paper advances a three-fold argument. First, bureaucracies lead the way in the development of specialized training programmes. Second, senior officials want to prepare themselves for items of importance in the near-term future (for example the European Union), as well as to cover as many remote possibilities as they can (for example with management training) in the hope they will do better in any post, even though they cannot now predict what those posts will require of them. Third, although some types of executive development programmes turn out to work well, numerous others do not. The latter, however, are not always a waste of money because they are sometimes used as places to temporarily 'store' people or to 'get rid of people' that an individual agency does not want to have around anymore.     

Pathologies of Development Practice: Higher Order Obstacles to Governance Reform in the Pakistani Electrical Power Sector

Development actors are regularly aware of the shortcomings of governance interventions before, during, and after development assistance is introduced, yet those programmes continue and are even revisited. Why? This paper uses the Pakistani experience with power sector reforms to illustrate how the donor-led reform agenda had readily apparent shortcomings. A new wave of development thinking responds to such failures by drawing on complexity theory and moving toward more local, iterative and experimental approaches. However, by highlighting how the awareness of problems with reforms isn’t sufficient to avoid them, this paper points to a higher order of obstacles which remain unaddressed.     

Spoken moments of a pernicious discourse? Querying Foucauldian critics' representations of development professionals

Critics influenced by Foucault understand development professionals to be determined by the official knowledge produced within their discourse to actions that harm their putative beneficiaries. This discourages these authors from looking more closely at development professionals and limits their value as allies for the social movements they champion. Through a series of interviews this paper finds that development professionals have a range of understandings of their knowledge, that each suggests distinct ranges of permissible action and that these offer terrains for the formation of alliances that are not anticipated by Foucauldian critics. It also finds that the practices required to exploit these opportunities perversely reinforce the status of official knowledge and that this status may ultimately constrain development in ways that are neither anticipated by Foucauldian critics nor operationally acceptable.     

Decolonising online development studies? Emancipatory aspirations and critical reflections – a case study

Academics in high-income countries are increasingly launching development studies programmes through online distance learning to engage practitioner-students in low-income countries. Are such initiatives providing opportunities to critically tackle social injustice, or merely ‘mirroring’ relations of global inequality and re-entrenching imperial practices? Building on recent scholarship addressing efforts to ‘decolonise development studies’ and the complex power dynamics they encounter, we reflect on this question by analysing experiences of faculty and students in a United Kingdom-based online development studies programme, focusing particularly on perspectives of development practitioner-students working from Africa. We discuss barriers to social inclusivity – including the politics of language – that shaped participation dynamics in the programme as well as debates regarding critical development course content, rethinking possibilities for bridging counter-hegemonic development scholarship with practice-oriented approaches in a range of social contexts. Our analysis unpacks key tensions in addressing intertwined institutional and pedagogic dilemmas for an agenda towards decolonising online development studies, positioning decolonisation as a necessarily unsettling and contested process that calls for greater self-reflexivity.     

‘People and personal projects’: a rejoinder on the challenge of teaching development studies

Abstract

In response to Juan David Parra Heredia’s criticism of her earlier article about her use of post-development as a tool in teaching development studies, Wendy Harcourt reflects further on how the course analysed in 2016 has evolved in the last three years and corrects the misreadings of the pedagogical position-taking by the teachers in the course.     

Integrating Policies,Plans and Programmes in Local Government: An Exploration from a Spatial Planning Perspective

Local government bodies are increasingly attempting to integrate different functions and departments in the production of policies, plans and programmes. Despite this interest, a general lack of conceptualisation around integration currently exists, presenting difficulties for local government practitioners to pursue such integration. This article reports findings of an ESRC PhD case study into integration in local government, and presents a conceptualisation which seeks to resolve these outstanding issues surrounding integration. These findings are particularly apt given the ongoing changes to local government in England.