Power relations? What power relations? The de-politicising conceptualisation of development of the UNDP |
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| Authors: | Juan Telleria |
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| Institution: | 1. HEGOA, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea UPV/EHU, Bilbao, Spain;2. Department of Government, University of Essex, Colchester, UK |
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| Abstract: | The UN′s Sustainable Development Goals agenda points far into 2030, which shows that its post-war development endeavour is not functioning effectively. This article implements a discourse analysis of the UN Development Programme′s (UNDP) Human Development Reports (HDR) and exposes their internal contradictions. This analysis enables a critical reflection on the UNDP′s political position: its reports conceal the political causes of underdevelopment. By concealing the antagonistic/conflictual dimension of social issues – poverty, inequality, and exclusion – the UNDP naturalises the actual neoliberal order. The HDR turns political problems into technical issues; according to this approach, no power relations have to be changed in order to overcome underdevelopment. |
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| Keywords: | UNDP human development discourse analysis antagonism power |
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