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Power relations? What power relations? The de-politicising conceptualisation of development of the UNDP

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  • Juan Telleria

Abstract

The UN′s Sustainable Development Goals agenda points far into 2030, which shows that its post-war development endeavour is not functioning effectively. This article implements a discourse analysis of the UN Development Programme′s (UNDP) Human Development Reports (HDR) and exposes their internal contradictions. This analysis enables a critical reflection on the UNDP′s political position: its reports conceal the political causes of underdevelopment. By concealing the antagonistic/conflictual dimension of social issues – poverty, inequality, and exclusion – the UNDP naturalises the actual neoliberal order. The HDR turns political problems into technical issues; according to this approach, no power relations have to be changed in order to overcome underdevelopment.

Suggested Citation

  • Juan Telleria, 2017. "Power relations? What power relations? The de-politicising conceptualisation of development of the UNDP," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(9), pages 2143-2158, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:38:y:2017:i:9:p:2143-2158
    DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2017.1298437
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    Cited by:

    1. Sarah Cummings & Anastasia‐Alithia Seferiadis & Leah de Haan, 2020. "Getting down to business? Critical discourse analysis of perspectives on the private sector in sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 759-771, July.
    2. Juan Telleria, 0. "Development and Participation: Whose Participation? A Critical Analysis of the UNDP’s Participatory Research Methods," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 0, pages 1-23.
    3. Juan Telleria, 2021. "Development and Participation: Whose Participation? A Critical Analysis of the UNDP’s Participatory Research Methods," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 33(3), pages 459-481, June.
    4. Johannes M. Luetz & Elizabeth Nichols & Karen du Plessis & Patrick D. Nunn, 2023. "Spirituality and Sustainable Development: A Systematic Word Frequency Analysis and an Agenda for Research in Pacific Island Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-14, January.

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