Far from being a liberating process for all, much of what has been done in the name of development serves to reinforce the intellectual, material, and financial dependence of those on the receiving end. Some argue that the very concept of development is essentially a vehicle in which cultural values and social norms, as well as resources, are exported from one part of the world to another, along a one-way route from rich to poor.
Acclaims:
‘Indispensable for anyone attempting to move beyond platitudes about development partnerships towards a critical understanding of the power relations that underpin development practice. The annotated bibliography alone is an invaluable resource, providing a rich and astonishingly varied compilation of critical alternatives to mainstream development thinking and practice.’
Carole Miller, Gender Policy Adviser, ActionAid
‘What this collection shows is that, despite the increasing constraints on both NGOs and state-sponsored [community] development, there are still spaces to be created for marginalised people to be heard. I would recommend this Reader to all those working in and with communities which are attempting to create and people these spaces.’
Community Development Journal
‘…the issues raised are important ones and the papers deserve attention from policy makers in NGOs in both the North and the South and from their colleagues in official agencies. ’>
Development and Change
NGOs working in the humanitarian and development sectors won official approval in the 1980s and 1990s, but there are signs now that they are losing favour. The NGO sector stands acused by some of complacency and self-interest, on the one hand, and of being ineffectual and irrelevant on the other. NGOs are increasingly challenged to demonstrate their legitimacy as respresentative voices of civil society.
