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Empowering People? World Vision & ‘Transformatory Development’ in Tanzania

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  • Tim Kelsall
  • Claire Mercer

Abstract

Ideas of participatory development and empowerment have become central to contemporary development discourse. This article identifies two axes of tension within this discourse. First is the disturbing thought that by empowering a ‘community’ a development project can disempower groups or individuals within that community. Second is the paradox whereby external agents are perceived as necessary to install internal desires and capacities for individual and community autonomy. The article presents empirical data from research into two projects by the NGO World Vision in northeast Tanzania. The aim is to show that the dilemmas of development in practice turn around these axis of tension, as the attempts to empower the ‘community’ benefit disproportionately an elite -- the idea of development as ‘empowerment’ inserted into the community from the outside.

Suggested Citation

  • Tim Kelsall & Claire Mercer, 2003. "Empowering People? World Vision & ‘Transformatory Development’ in Tanzania," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(96), pages 293-304, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:revape:v:30:y:2003:i:96:p:293-304
    DOI: 10.1080/03056244.2003.9693501
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    Cited by:

    1. Susannah Pickering-Saqqa, 2019. "Places of Poverty and Powerlessness: INGOs Working ‘At Home’," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(5), pages 1371-1388, December.

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