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Paradoxes of participation: questioning participatory approaches to development

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  • Frances Cleaver

    (Development and Project Planning Centre, University of Bradford, UK)

Abstract

This article suggests that the concepts underlying participatory approaches to development should be subject to greater critical analysis. Drawing on research on water resource management in sub-Saharan Africa, and on social theory concerning the recursive relationship between agency and structure, it illustrates the need for a more complex understanding of issues of efficiency and empowerment in participatory approaches. Particularly, two key concepts are examined: ideas about the nature and role of institutions ; and models of individual action . The article concludes by identifying the questions such an analysis raises about the relationships between community, social capital and the state. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Frances Cleaver, 1999. "Paradoxes of participation: questioning participatory approaches to development," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(4), pages 597-612.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:11:y:1999:i:4:p:597-612
    DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1328(199906)11:4<597::AID-JID610>3.0.CO;2-Q
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Frances Cleaver, 1998. "Choice, complexity, and change: Gendered livelihoods and the management of water," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 15(4), pages 293-299, December.
    2. Carmen Deere & Magdalena Leon, 1998. "Gender, land, and water: From reform to counter-reform in Latin America," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 15(4), pages 375-386, December.
    3. Zwarteveen, Margreet Z. & Neupane, Nita, 1996. "Free-riders or victims: Women's nonparticipation in irrigation management in Nepal's Chhattis Mauja Irrigation Scheme," IWMI Research Reports 52731, International Water Management Institute.
    4. Linda Mayoux, 1995. "Beyond Naivety: Women, Gender Inequality and Participatory Development," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 26(2), pages 235-258, April.
    5. William Adams & Elizabeth Watson & Samuel Mutiso, 1997. "Water, Rules and Gender: Water Rights in an Indigenous Irrigation System, Marakwet, Kenya," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 28(4), pages 707-730, October.
    6. Thompson, John, 1995. "Participatory approaches in government bureaucracies: Facilitating the process of institutional change," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(9), pages 1521-1554, September.
    7. Tania Murray Li, 1996. "Images of Community: Discourse and Strategy in Property Relations," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 27(3), pages 501-527, July.
    8. Richard R. Nelson, 1995. "Recent Evolutionary Theorizing about Economic Change," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(1), pages 48-90, March.
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