New Conditionality

This title offers a critique of Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs) and their implications for democracy.

(Bookdata)

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'The great value of this book comes from seeing aid as profoundly political, that is, the new poverty reduction consensus is not dismissed as pure rhetoric, nor endorsed as an unquestionable good, but instead analysed in terms of its actual impact and reconfiguration of domestic political arenas. Most revealingly perhaps, the book shows how partnerships can undermine democratic accountability, promoting a distinctively technocratic approach to development. For anyone seeking to understand the contemporary aid relationship, this is both crucial and exciting reading.' - Rita Abrahamsen, author of Disciplining Democracy: Development Discourse and Good Governance in Africa 'A fascinating ground-level exploration of the current development mantras 'civil society participation' and 'country ownership'. The case studies pull no punches in arguing that international institutions, including some international NGOs, have entrenched their places at the policy-making table and helped marginalise independent national civil society formations and indigenous institutions. The analysis shows the dangers of a new generation of one size fits all thinking, but also the importance of national political circumstances in determining outcomes.' - Alex Wilks, Coordinator, European Network on Debt and Development

(Whitaker)

Jeremy Gould is associate professor of development studies at the University of Helsinki. He is an anthropologist specialising in development and the post-colonial state in Africa, particularly Zambia. The contributors are European and Asian researchers and academics currently based in Central America, Laos and Vietnam.

(Whitaker)

1 Poverty, politics and states of partnership - Jeremy Gould; The poverty reduction consensus; Approach; The pro-poor policy process as a political arena; Case studies; 2 Tanzania: Merging in the Circle - Jeremy Gould & Julia Ojanen; The State-Donor partnership in Tanzania; Changing political opportunities of non-state actors; Participation of non-state actors; The Poverty Monitoring System: Extending the partnership; Discipline and empower: Transnational actors & civil society; Representative democracy and the politics of policy implementation; Poverty reduction and democratic politics; 3 Vietnam: Dealing with donors - Irene Norlund, Tran Ngoc Ca and Nguyen Dinh Tuyen; Introduction; Historical context; The context of the CPRGS; The process leading to the CPRGS; Partner agendas; Broader perspectives on the process; 4 Honduras: Transforming the concessional state - Maaria Seppanen; Country context; The organisation of aid relationships; The dynamics of civic activism in Honduras; Political implications of the Honduran PRS process; 5 The politics of consultation - Jeremy Gould; New conditionalities and state formation; Aid as politics; Strategic incentives in aid relations; Crosscutting trends in post-developmental politics; Political implications of the new conditionality; A glimmer of sanity?; Bibliography; Index; Figures, Tables, Box; Figure 1. The public policy arena; Table 1. Socio-economic indicators for the three case studies 2003; Table 2: Principles of aid harmonization in Tanzania; Box: PRSP Process in Tanzania; Figure 2: Model of CSO involvement in influencing national policy planning; in Tanzania; Table 3. FDI inflows and ODA in Vietnam; Table 4. Vietnam's external debt and debt service 1998-2002, US$ billion; Table 5. Indicators of aid dependence for Honduras, Tanzania and Vietnam

(Whitaker)