Participation: From tyranny to transformation?
Overview
The aim of this session is to critically explore the different ways in
which the divide between research and policy is bridged by participatory
forms of research, development and governance. The specific focus will
be on a newly published edited collection by the session convenors –
entitled Participation: From tyranny to transformation? (2004, Zed Books).
Both the editors and discussants will offer their views on how the book
relates to the theme of bridging research and policy, followed by an open
discussion. Participants are encouraged to download the following three
documents and read them in advance:
¢ Link to the Briefing Note
¢ Link to the Contents list of the book
Context
Despite the strong, and often persuasive, critical backlash against participatory
approaches to development that emerged in the late 1990s, many development
academics, practitioners and policy-makers remain wedded to the notion
that participation can contribute towards the broad goal of empowerment.
More specifically, some academics responded to the critique by re-locating
participation within an explicitly political and radical approach to development.
The book that this session draws on, which arises from a conference held
in February 2003, offers a clear sense of how and why participation can
be more transformatory than tyrannical for marginalized communities and
people. This task is based on both theoretical critique and engagement
with the experiences of policy makers and NGO practitioners. The book
suggests a more radical approach to participatory development, one that
is explicitly political and engages with ‘participation’ not
simply as a technical intervention but as a form of popular political
agency that is embedded within and shaped by underlying processes of development.
This also requires a clearer understanding of development theory and to
be positioned as a form of critical engagement with capitalist modernity.
Themes and contributors
The book draws together leading academics and policy researchers (link
to the Contents list of the book). The first section seeks to map the
current field of participatory development and governance and raise some
key critical concerns. This is followed by a series of theoretical discussions
on how notions of citizenship, political space, and political capabilities
can deepen our understandings of participation. It then examines how participation
is embedded in ‘indigenous’ processes of development, involving
broader forms of popular agency than those involved in specific interventions,
before looking at the interaction between local participatory approaches
and formal political processes. Then the role of donors concerning participatory
innovations is examined, particularly in terms of poverty reduction strategy
processes and participatory forms of rights-based development. The final
two chapters offer two experts in the field the opportunity to discuss
the overall contribution of the book to understandings of participation
and development studies more broadly.
The panellists
· Teddy Brett (Visiting Senior Research
Fellow, DESTIN, London School of Economics)
Teddy Brett is well known for his work on the political economy of development,
the world economy and financial institutions, the politics of development
in Africa with special reference to Uganda, and development management.
He has made significant contributions towards debates on participation,
including the following paper: 'Participation and Accountability in Development
Management', Journal of Development Studies, 40(2) 2003.
· Nazneen Kanji (Senior Research Associate,
International Institute for Environment and Development)
Dr Nazneen Kanji has been involved in social development research, programme
development, consultancy, teaching and training for the past 20 years.
She has undertaken participatory poverty and livelihood assessments in
urban and rural contexts, and provided policy advice for DFID, SIDA, NORAD,
Swiss Development Corporation and for international NGOs.
· Uma Kothari (IDPM, University of Manchester)
Uma Kothari is the co-editor and contributing author to Participation:
The New Tyranny (Zed, 2001). She researches on issues of social development,
history and theories of development; colonialism and development; processes
of migration; industrialisation and export-processing zones; gender and
development.
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Session convenors
· Giles Mohan (DPP, Open University; g.mohan@open.ac.uk)
Giles Mohan is a lecturer in Development Studies at the Open University.
His research interests have been around the politics of localism, particularly
issues of decentralisation, participation and civil society. More recently
Giles has focused on breaking out of the local by examining the role of
migration and diasporas in development.
· Sam Hickey (IDPM, University of Manchester;
sam.hickey@man.ac.uk)
Sam Hickey is a lecturer in international development at the Institute
for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester. His interests
include participation and NGOs, the links between politics and poverty
reduction, and the use of political analysis within development studies.
He is the co-editor and contributing author for a forthcoming special
edition of World Development on ‘The Politics of Poverty Reduction’.
Copies of the book, From Tyranny to Transformation? Exploring New Approaches
to Participation (Zed 2004) will be on sale at a special conference price,
before and after the session.
Page last updated:
1 October, 2004
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