Suchergebnisse

This article is an ethnographic examination of the response to proposed housing development in an English village which provides broader insights into the nature of democratic and decision-making processes around local development projects. Dissecting the complexities of class, age and length of residence, it argues that attributions of either 'NIMBYism' or 'community cohesion' simplify how and why people come together. Charges of NIMBYism in popular representation seek to exploit difference through certain well-established tropes. These often distinguish between the interests of poorer and longer-established residents with livelihoodsrooted in rural areas, and those of wealthier people with urban-based livelihoods for whom rural housing is a lifestyle choice. Academic discussions of NIMBYism have sought to unpack the complexity of opposition, identifying problems in the uncritical use of the term. In contributing to this literature, I argue that it is important to consider how responses are shaped by both a combination of individual interest and sense of investment in place. I suggest that 'community' is an effective organising device for protesters that can obscure numerous differences and that the nature of political process and consultation also are crucial factors in shaping opposition. Concerns with the nature of nominally democratic processes and the role of outsider imposition are especially significant here.

Despite a growing recognition of the significance of farmer-led irrigation, externally engineered and induced schemes remain a popular model for irrigation development in sub-Saharan Africa. These have had a mixed record, and many have been widely critiqued. Nonetheless, schemes that were initiated under colonialism have been rehabilitated and new schemes are still being developed. This paper interrogates the continuing attraction of this model for irrigation, asking how and why it persists. Is the fact that engineering is so central to irrigation schemes another example of 'high modernism', as Scott might argue? Analysis of the history and current policy-making context of a new irrigation scheme in Malawi suggests a picture that is more complex, in which practical engineering considerations combine with narratives of modernisation and political imperatives to create momentum and lock-in. Understanding this, and why lessons from the past inadequately shape future-directed planning requires interrogation of the positionality of those involved, including state, donors and private sector actors and the political, economic and discursive fields in which they operate.

Quantitative and quasi-experimental methods have become popular in the evaluation of development impact. In response, several commentators have argued for more effective use of 'mixed methods'. This paper engages with, and builds upon, this current criticism of more quantitatively based impact evaluation from the disciplinary perspective of anthropology. Focusing on one specific evaluation, of an irrigation project in Malawi, it asks what was missed and what was misunderstood in the quantitative focus that was adopted. The paper then reflects on the wider question that is raised of how particular methods and perspectives can take centre stage and produce apparent 'truths' even in the face of evidence pointing in opposite directions. The overall argument is that this is a matter of the politics of knowledge production and of how particular disciplinary perspectives may come to dominate.

Würde Shakespeare heute leben und ein Theaterstück schreiben über die Widersprüchlichkeit, mit der der Staat hier als Gesetzgeber und da als Monopolwächter auftritt: Welche Form würde er wählen? Elizabeth Harrison meint: Tragödie oder Komödie vielleicht. Doch viel eher die Groteske.

This paper critically engages with a recent shift towards an emphasis on 'resilience' in policy and academic fields. The paper suggests that this shift is problematic for several reasons: that it supports normative value judgements; that it may overemphasize the ability of people to 'bounce back' and undervalue the hidden costs of resilience, especially those with gendered dimensions; and that it may be associated with policy prescriptions that shift responsibility for dealing with crisis away from the public sphere. The empirical illustration for this analysis is a qualitative study of the impact of economic decline in the Sussex town of Newhaven.

Culture and Public Action. Vijayendra Rao and Michael Walton, eds. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004. 442 pp.

This article examines the proliferation of development discourses about participation and partnership, focusing on natural resources management policy in Ethiopia. It argues that relationships between the state and donors and between donors themselves are contested and negotiated. The generation of policy is a value–laden process. However, because these institutions are not monolithic, the agency and positioning of those individuals charged with implementing participatory policy influence both practice and interpretation. This may go some way towards explaining the frequent gaps between policy and practice.