IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/prodev/v14y2014i3p275-285.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The absence of class: Critical development, NGOs and the misuse of Gramsci’s concept of counter-hegemony

Author

Listed:
  • John McSweeney

    (PhD Candidate, Institute for Development Policy and Management, School of Environment, Education and Development, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK)

Abstract

This article argues that a number of concepts originally developed by Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937) have been misapplied by critical development theorists in their engagement with NGOs. This applies particularly to ‘hegemony’ and ‘counter-hegemony’ because they have been detached from the ontological gravity provided by class. However, Gramsci’s terms, to be analytically comprehendible, should be defined in relation to the agency of class. Yet the treatment of class as an emancipatory agent has been neglected by development studies. This hinders a proper recognition of the real worth of Gramsci’s project of counter-hegemony, particularly in light of the crisis afflicting the present conjuncture.

Suggested Citation

  • John McSweeney, 2014. "The absence of class: Critical development, NGOs and the misuse of Gramsci’s concept of counter-hegemony," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 14(3), pages 275-285, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:prodev:v:14:y:2014:i:3:p:275-285
    DOI: 10.1177/1464993414521339
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1464993414521339
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/1464993414521339?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mitlin, Diana & Hickey, Sam & Bebbington, Anthony, 2007. "Reclaiming Development? NGOs and the Challenge of Alternatives," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 1699-1720, October.
    2. Wendy Harcourt, 2012. "Editorial: The Challenge of Civic Action for Development," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 55(2), pages 151-153, June.
    3. Korten, David C., 1987. "Third generation NGO strategies: A key to people-centered development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 15(1, Supple), pages 145-159.
    4. Editors The, 2008. "From the Editors," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 3(1), pages 1-1, July.
    5. Harvey, David, 2007. "A Brief History of Neoliberalism," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199283279.
    6. Harvey, David, 2005. "The New Imperialism," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199278084.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sara Kinsbergen & Dirk-Jan Koch & Christine Plaisier & Lau Schulpen, 2022. "Long-Lasting, But Not Transformative. An Ex-post Sustainability Study of Development Interventions of Private Development Initiatives," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(1), pages 51-76, February.
    2. Jeffrey W. Henderson, 2008. "China and the Future of the Developing World: The Coming Global-Asian Era and its Consequences," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2008-58, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Pinkerton, Evelyn & Davis, Reade, 2015. "Neoliberalism and the politics of enclosure in North American small-scale fisheries," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 303-312.
    4. Ziad Koussa, 2023. "Revolution, Change, and Democratic Transition in Egypt Since 2011: A Critical Political Economy Approach," Contemporary Review of the Middle East, , vol. 10(2), pages 165-187, June.
    5. Ju Li, 2021. "Open Sesame? The Paradoxical Development of C2C E-commerce in China," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 53(2), pages 266-280, June.
    6. Emmanuel Kumi & Albert Arhin & Thomas Yeboah, 2014. "Can post-2015 sustainable development goals survive neoliberalism? A critical examination of the sustainable development–neoliberalism nexus in developing countries," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 539-554, June.
    7. Boisvert, Valérie, 2015. "Conservation banking mechanisms and the economization of nature: An institutional analysis," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 134-142.
    8. Neely, Megan Tobias & Carmichael, Donna, 2021. "Profiting on crisis: how predatory financial investors have worsened inequality in the coronavirus crisis," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112697, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Carlos Bueno-Suárez & Daniel Coq-Huelva, 2020. "Sustaining What Is Unsustainable: A Review of Urban Sprawl and Urban Socio-Environmental Policies in North America and Western Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-36, May.
    10. Patrick J. Devlin, 2010. "Exploring efficiency's dominance: the wholeness of the process," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(2), pages 141-162, June.
    11. Francis Amagoh, 2015. "Improving the credibility and effectiveness of non-governmental organizations," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 15(3), pages 221-239, July.
    12. Simon C. Darnell & Lyndsay M.C. Hayhurst, 2011. "Sport for decolonization," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 11(3), pages 183-196, July.
    13. Katharina Najork & Jonathan Friedrich & Markus Keck, 2022. "Bt cotton, pink bollworm, and the political economy of sociobiological obsolescence: insights from Telangana, India," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(3), pages 1007-1026, September.
    14. Xiao, Chaowei & Silva, Elisabete A. & Zhang, Chuchu, 2020. "Nine-nine-six work system and people’s movement patterns: Using big data sets to analyse overtime working in Shanghai," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    15. Laurent, Catherine E. & Berriet-Solliec, Marielle & Kirsch, Marc & Labarthe, Pierre & Trouve, Aurelie, 2010. "Multifunctionality Of Agriculture, Public Policies And Scientific Evidences: Some Critical Issues Of Contemporary Controversies," APSTRACT: Applied Studies in Agribusiness and Commerce, AGRIMBA, vol. 4(1-2), pages 1-6.
    16. Jamie Redman, 2020. "The Benefit Sanction: A Correctional Device or a Weapon of Disgust?," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 25(1), pages 84-100, March.
    17. Patricia M Martin, 2005. "Comparative Topographies of Neoliberalism in Mexico," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 37(2), pages 203-220, February.
    18. Grzegorz W. Kolodko, 2009. "A Two-thirds Rate of Success: Polish Transformation and Economic Development, 1989-2008," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2009-14, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    19. Andrew Crookston, 2012. "Thomas J. Bassett and Alex Winter-Nelson: The atlas of world hunger," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(2), pages 277-278, June.
    20. Hsu, Dan K. & Burmeister-Lamp, Katrin & Simmons, Sharon A. & Foo, Maw-Der & Hong, Michelle C. & Pipes, Jesse D., 2019. "“I know I can, but I don't fit”: Perceived fit, self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial intention," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 311-326.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:prodev:v:14:y:2014:i:3:p:275-285. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.