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The Power-Relations of Danida Business Partnerships in Nepal - A study in governmentality, identities and practices

Jensen, Marie Stissing LU (2014) WPMM40 20141
Department of Political Science
Abstract
Danish development policy is increasingly orienting towards the private sector and development through economic growth. Development programs are heavily influenced by a neo-liberal discourse, and they alter power-relations, identities and practices where they intervene in local contexts. The purpose of this thesis is to denaturalize the taken-for-granted truth established in the development discourse, and to make the embedded power-relations of certain types of development programs visible. The theory of governmentality is applied to investigate how the small-scale private sector development program Danida Business Partnership is rendered powerful and governable. Furthermore, I explorer how the program, through its central components of... (More)
Danish development policy is increasingly orienting towards the private sector and development through economic growth. Development programs are heavily influenced by a neo-liberal discourse, and they alter power-relations, identities and practices where they intervene in local contexts. The purpose of this thesis is to denaturalize the taken-for-granted truth established in the development discourse, and to make the embedded power-relations of certain types of development programs visible. The theory of governmentality is applied to investigate how the small-scale private sector development program Danida Business Partnership is rendered powerful and governable. Furthermore, I explorer how the program, through its central components of CSR and partnerships, constitutes and shapes local identities and practices of companies in Nepal. In order to catch these different aspects of the relations between truth, power, and the subject, I have performed a discourse analysis on qualitative data in the form of government documents and a range of interviews and observations, which were gathered in Kathmandu, Nepal. The analysis outlines the political rationality and technologies of government of the DBP program, and it demonstrate how the discourse constitutes a space where only those companies, who understand and identify with its neo-liberal rationality, are allowed to maneuver. (Less)
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author
Jensen, Marie Stissing LU
supervisor
organization
course
WPMM40 20141
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Danida Business Partnerships, development, CSR, Governmentality, Friction
language
English
id
4586780
date added to LUP
2014-09-17 13:18:54
date last changed
2014-09-17 13:18:54
@misc{4586780,
  abstract     = {{Danish development policy is increasingly orienting towards the private sector and development through economic growth. Development programs are heavily influenced by a neo-liberal discourse, and they alter power-relations, identities and practices where they intervene in local contexts. The purpose of this thesis is to denaturalize the taken-for-granted truth established in the development discourse, and to make the embedded power-relations of certain types of development programs visible. The theory of governmentality is applied to investigate how the small-scale private sector development program Danida Business Partnership is rendered powerful and governable. Furthermore, I explorer how the program, through its central components of CSR and partnerships, constitutes and shapes local identities and practices of companies in Nepal. In order to catch these different aspects of the relations between truth, power, and the subject, I have performed a discourse analysis on qualitative data in the form of government documents and a range of interviews and observations, which were gathered in Kathmandu, Nepal. The analysis outlines the political rationality and technologies of government of the DBP program, and it demonstrate how the discourse constitutes a space where only those companies, who understand and identify with its neo-liberal rationality, are allowed to maneuver.}},
  author       = {{Jensen, Marie Stissing}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Power-Relations of Danida Business Partnerships in Nepal - A study in governmentality, identities and practices}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}