Evaluating participatory development : Tyranny, power and (re)politicisation
Williams, Glyn LU
(2004)
In Third World Quarterly
25(3).
p.557-578
- Abstract
Ever since participation entered mainstream development discourse, critics have attacked it as form of political control. If development is indeed an 'anti-politics machine' (Ferguson, 1994), the claim is that participation provides a remarkably efficient means of greasing its wheels. But do participatory practices and discourse necessarily represent the de-politicisation of development? This paper aims to provide an answer in two distinct ways. First, it examines the 'de-politicisation' critique, arguing that, while participation may indeed be a form of 'subjection', its consequences are not predetermined and its subjects are never completely controlled. Second, it investigates participatory development's ability to open up new spaces... (More)
Ever since participation entered mainstream development discourse, critics have attacked it as form of political control. If development is indeed an 'anti-politics machine' (Ferguson, 1994), the claim is that participation provides a remarkably efficient means of greasing its wheels. But do participatory practices and discourse necessarily represent the de-politicisation of development? This paper aims to provide an answer in two distinct ways. First, it examines the 'de-politicisation' critique, arguing that, while participation may indeed be a form of 'subjection', its consequences are not predetermined and its subjects are never completely controlled. Second, it investigates participatory development's ability to open up new spaces for political action, arguing that celebrations of 'individual liberation' and critiques of 'subjection to the system' both over-simplify participation's power effects. To re-politicise participation, empowerment must be re-imagined as an open-end and ongoing process of engagement with political struggles at a range of spatial scales.
(Less)
- author
- Williams, Glyn
LU
- publishing date
- 2004-03
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Third World Quarterly
- volume
- 25
- issue
- 3
- pages
- 22 pages
- publisher
- Routledge
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:17344364076
- ISSN
- 0143-6597
- DOI
- 10.1080/0143659042000191438
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 621df8f4-8af9-4dc9-967e-ff6a532340a6
- date added to LUP
- 2025-05-29 21:27:00
- date last changed
- 2025-06-03 15:50:05
@article{621df8f4-8af9-4dc9-967e-ff6a532340a6,
abstract = {{<p>Ever since participation entered mainstream development discourse, critics have attacked it as form of political control. If development is indeed an 'anti-politics machine' (Ferguson, 1994), the claim is that participation provides a remarkably efficient means of greasing its wheels. But do participatory practices and discourse necessarily represent the de-politicisation of development? This paper aims to provide an answer in two distinct ways. First, it examines the 'de-politicisation' critique, arguing that, while participation may indeed be a form of 'subjection', its consequences are not predetermined and its subjects are never completely controlled. Second, it investigates participatory development's ability to open up new spaces for political action, arguing that celebrations of 'individual liberation' and critiques of 'subjection to the system' both over-simplify participation's power effects. To re-politicise participation, empowerment must be re-imagined as an open-end and ongoing process of engagement with political struggles at a range of spatial scales.</p>}},
author = {{Williams, Glyn}},
issn = {{0143-6597}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{3}},
pages = {{557--578}},
publisher = {{Routledge}},
series = {{Third World Quarterly}},
title = {{Evaluating participatory development : Tyranny, power and (re)politicisation}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0143659042000191438}},
doi = {{10.1080/0143659042000191438}},
volume = {{25}},
year = {{2004}},
}