Responding to Poverty and Injustice in the Light of the Post-Development
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RESPONDING TO POVERTY AND INJUSTICE IN THE LIGHT OF THE POST-DEVELOPMENT DEBATE: INSIGHTS FROM A SENEGALESE NON- GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATION by SALLY JOANNE MATTHEWS A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Centre of West African Studies School of Historical Studies University of Birmingham August 2007 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT This thesis intervenes in one of the most prominent recent debates in development theory – that between post-development theorists and their critics – and brings to it insights drawn from the experiences of a Senegalese non-governmental organisation, Enda Graf Sahel. I begin by providing a critical discussion of the post-development debate and then detail the question which guides this investigation, namely: how can we, the relatively privileged, respond meaningfully to poverty and injustice in the light of the post-development debate? I present three possible responses to my research question. Firstly, I argue that the relatively privileged have a role to play in rethinking the concepts of ‘poverty’ and ‘injustice’. Secondly, I discuss the kinds of support that we may provide to popular organisations; and finally, I describe ways in which those of us who are relatively privileged may change aspects of our own lives and settings in solidarity with the struggles of the poor and oppressed. Throughout, I draw extensively both on the post-development debate and on the experiences and insights of Enda Graf Sahel to show how we can move past a simple defence or rejection of post-development theory in order to meaningfully respond to poverty and injustice. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Acknowledging and thanking those who have in some way assisted in the writing of this thesis is not an easy task. There have been so many direct and indirect influences which have in some way contributed to the emergence of this text, that I am not sure where to begin and what to say. Nevertheless, let me make an attempt. I would, firstly, like to thank my supervisor, Reg Cline-Cole, who has been unfailingly supportive and understanding and whose supervision has always been careful, thoughtful and kind. Then, I would like to acknowledge the support of the British Council which made this research possible by granting me a Commonwealth Scholarship. Thirdly, I owe my thanks to the many who helped make my fieldwork in Senegal easier: to Abdoulaye Niane who introduced me to Senegal while still in the United Kingdom, to his family for housing me on my arrival, to all those at Auberge Asseme for being my family in Senegal and, most importantly, to the staff of Enda Graf Sahel and their affiliates for inspiring me to visit them and for being willing to take the time to teach me so much while there. Finally, I must thank my family: my parents and brother for their role in shaping and caring for the author of this thesis and my husband for being willing to follow me to England and then Senegal as I worked on this project and for continually challenging and stretching me intellectually and emotionally. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... 1 1.1 Aims and Objectives ................................................................................. 3 1.2 Context of the Study ................................................................................. 5 1.3 Justification for the Study ......................................................................... 8 1.4 Limitations of the Study ........................................................................... 10 1.5 Research Approach and Methods ............................................................. 12 1.6 Notes on Terminology .............................................................................. 26 1.7 Organisation of the Thesis ........................................................................ 28 CHAPTER 2: AN OVERVIEW OF CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENT DEBATES............................................................................................................. 30 2.1. The Origins of Development Studies ....................................................... 30 2.2. An Overview of Past Development Debates ............................................ 32 2.3. Neo-liberalism and its Critics ................................................................... 35 2.4. The Impasse in Development Studies ...................................................... 43 2.5. Post-Development Theory ........................................................................ 45 2.5.1. The Failure of Past Development Initiatives ................................ 47 2.5.2. Development as a Flawed Idea ..................................................... 48 2.5.3. The Misrepresentation of the ‘Developed’ and the ‘Underdeveloped’ ......................................................................... 50 2.5.4. A Critique of the Modern, Western Way of Life ......................... 54 2.5.5. Becoming ‘Developed’ is Neither Possible nor Desirable ........... 57 2.5.6. Emphasis on the Non-Material ..................................................... 59 2.5.7. Importance of Difference and Diversity ....................................... 62 2.5.8. Focus on the ‘Local’ and Support for ‘New Social Movements’ . 64 2.5.9. Validation of the Non-Western ..................................................... 66 2.5.10. ‘Alternatives to Development’ not ‘Alternative Development’ ... 68 2.6. Criticism of Post-Development Theory .................................................... 72 2.6.1. Poor Methodology and Argumentation ........................................ 73 2.6.2. Unhelpful Generalisations ............................................................ 76 2.6.3. Inadequate Presentation of an Alternative .................................... 78 2.6.4. The Politics of (Post-)Development Theory ................................. 80 2.7. Clarifying the Key Differences Between Post-Development Theorists and their Critics ............................................................................................... 87 2.8. New Directions in Post-Development Theory? ........................................ 89 2.9. A Brief Defence of Post-Development Theory, or a Version Thereof ..... 90 2.10. Conclusion ................................................................................................ 95 CHAPTER 3: WHAT, THEN, SHOULD WE DO? ........................................ 96 3.1. ‘Us’, ‘Them’ and ‘Distant Others’: Some Clarifications ......................... 97 3.2 Debating Our Responsibilities .................................................................. 101 3.3 Where to From Here? ............................................................................... 110 3.3.1. Rethinking the Struggle ................................................................ 111 3.3.2. Supporting Popular Initiatives ...................................................... 113 3.3.3. Solidarity with Distant Others Here at Home ............................... 115 3.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 116 CHAPTER 4: THE ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION OF ENDA GRAF SAHEL ................................................................................................................. 117 4.1 The Senegalese NGO Context .................................................................. 118 4.2 Enda Tiers Monde .................................................................................... 123 4.3 Enda Graf Sahel ........................................................................................ 129 4.4 Evolution of the EGS Approach to Development .................................... 136 4.4.1 The Increasing Integration of EGS with its ‘Target Populations’ 139 4.4.2 A Broadening of Focus ................................................................. 142 4.4.3 Changes in EGS Understanding of Research ................................ 143 4.4.4 EGS and the Women of Grand Yoff: Illustrating the Evolution of the EGS Approach ........................................................................ 146 4.5 Enda Graf Sahel in/and Reflection on (Post-)Development ..................... 156 4.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 159 CHAPTER 5: RETHINKING THE STRUGGLE .......................................... 161 5.1 Playing with Words .................................................................................. 162 5.2 Rethinking Poverty ................................................................................... 165 5.2.1 Poverty as the (Usually Material) Things ‘They’ Lack ................ 166 5.2.2 Enda Graf Sahel’s Faces of Poverty and Mechanisms of Impoverishment .............................................................................. 171 5.3 Rethinking Inequ(al)ity