For land-grant universities (LGUs) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), achieving food security is a longstanding and shared priority. International agricultural development is entangled in competing imaginaries and ideological underpinnings. The coordinated social movements of food sovereignty and agroecology seek to transform local and global food systems away from the dominant neoliberal paradigm. Using localized and participatory practices, agroecology seeks to develop self-reliant communities towards more just and equitable food systems. Similarly, the current policy framework of USAID advances "The Journey to Self-Reliance" (J2SR). Yet the discourse of self-reliance reflects varied discursive meanings. The first is an alternative imaginary to develop increased community autonomy, build social support structures, and protect ecologies. The second reflects neoliberal ideology articulating notions of individual responsibility and private sector leadership. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and focus groups, this research investigated how USAID's J2SR discourse is represented, how it affects agroecological opportunities, and subsequently the impact on land-grant university food security praxis. Analytically, CDA foregrounds discursive power by investigating how texts, interpretation, and action operate as a system to maintain or contest unequal power relations. I employed focus groups with land-grant international development scholar-practitioners as a form of critical praxis. My research illustrates how USAID's self-reliance definition reproduces neoliberalism as a dominant political-economic orientation through anti-welfare rhetoric and private sector leadership. Alongside this, the J2SR discourse also actively promotes local participation and leadership. Subsequently, I contend, the discourse presents opportunities for scientific agroecology but also limits agroecology's transformative potential. A critical finding is that among sampled land grant actors, agroecology reflects epistemic complexity and competing imaginaries. Moreover, I illustrate how participants' responses to the policy corpus largely accept the embedded neoliberal ideology, while also demonstrating how some actors can use creativity to directly fund local research institutions. I contend that the creative modification observed among these actors represents the potential for land grant actors to serve as change agents and to support the agroecology movement. This research contributes to understanding how USAID frames self-reliance within their policy and where opportunities lie to challenge power structures and advance justice within international agricultural development. / Doctor of Philosophy / For land-grant universities (LGUs) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), achieving food security is a longstanding and shared priority. Despite decades of commitment, food insecurity persists reflecting the complexity of the problem. Various visions exist for how food security can be achieved. The coordinated social movements of food sovereignty and agroecology are one such vision that looks to transform the global food system away from practices deemed harmful. A critical component of agroecology is to center local community participation towards developing self-reliant communities. The current policy framework of USAID advances "The Journey to Self-Reliance" (J2SR). Self-reliance, however, is a broad term with different meanings and uses. One definition of self-reliance seeks to develop local communities around increased autonomy, with support from the government to ensure basic needs, while also protecting the environment. The second self-reliance definition focuses on supporting individual responsibility and capacity to ensure basic needs alongside private sector growth. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and focus groups, this research sought to understand how USAID's J2SR is represented in a selection of policy texts, how this representation influences agroecological opportunities, and subsequently the impact on land-grant university food security efforts. Analytically, CDA centers power in policy texts by focusing on how the interpretations and actions of actors can support or challenge systems of inequity. I used focus groups to understand the reflections and actions of land grant actors involved in international development. My research illustrates how USAID's definition of self-reliance reflects an anti-welfare sentiment alongside a focus on private sector leadership. Moreover, the policy selections also emphasized local participation and leadership which could represent a marginal shift in development power dynamics. Subsequently, I argue the J2SR makes environmental agroecology more possible than one seeking social, cultural, and political change. A key finding is how the perceptions of agroecology among sampled land grant actors represent the complexity, and at times, competition of various disciplines, values, and beliefs. Finally, from land grant participants, I illustrate how their responses to the policy corpus largely accept the embedded neoliberal ideology, while also demonstrating how some actors use creativity to increase the participation of local research institutions. This creativity, I argue, represents the potential for land grant actors to serve as change agents and to support agroecology towards fostering greater food security, equity, and justice globally. This research contributes towards an understanding of how USAID defines self-reliance and where opportunities lie to challenge unequal power relations and advance justice within international agricultural development.

The growth of networks in international development, accelerated by communications possibilities provided by new social media, offers the potential for richer access by local groups to information and ideas on which to base development activities. However, a long history of participation in development shows that information is often imparted in a top down way, vesting control and power in institutions external to the local groups who wish to make use of it. Frameworks for social learning such as Communities of Practice tend to focus on collaborative learning from experience, rather than such a 'top down' transmission of information, offering the possibility that they may enable horizontal learning between geographically distributed groups linked by social media. Through a three year co-operative enquiry within the newly established Global Network for Disaster Reduction, this action research investigates whether horizontal learning employing social media can enable this network to share learning and thereby support grassroots development. The research finds that the structure and relationships within such an internationally distributed network lead to a qualitatively different mode of learning framed as a Community of Praxis. It proposes that this framework can be further elaborated and applied within network contexts to encourage the possibility of a different emphasis in development.

This dissertation studies how society views corruption at different stages of economic development. It develops a theoretical framework that shows that at low levels of income or development, corruption increases and at high levels of income and development, corruption decreases. This theoretical proposition is also investigated empirically. The empirical analyses support the proposed theory and hint that fiscal policy, socioeconomic conditions, and incidences of war play significant roles in determining a country’s corruption level. In addition, this dissertation also explores the relationship between merchandise and service trade. I show theoretically that the two are related and determined simultaneously. An empirical investigation also confirms this proposition. Lastly, I investigate the issue of pollution in developing countries. I explore the existence of an inverted u-shaped relationship between emissions and income. I examine the role played by foreign investment in improving emissions in developing countries. The results support the inverted u-shaped relationship and suggest that environmental aid does not reduce emissions in developing countries.

Texas A&M University of the United States and the Institute National Agronomique de Tunisie (INAT) of Tunisia established a collaborative relationship of mutual exchange of information and ideas for the further advancement of both universities. The researcher worked closely with these universities to conduct a qualitative study in Tunisia to determine the effectiveness of agricultural institutions working to further development in that country. The emphasis of the study was on the transference of knowledge and innovations from the research level through extension to the farmers and other end users. The triangle of teaching, research, and extension provided a base perspective. The researcher interviewed 37 respondents, including researchers, extension personnel, administration, professors, and farmers. From data that respondents provided, the researcher used a constant comparative method to organize results into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the agricultural institutions as a system. Overarching themes included a pointed focus on meeting farmer needs, but this desire was hindered from being carried out fully due to complex communication systems and an organizational structure that did not facilitate change. Hope did abound for Tunisian agriculturalists because the opportunities available through globalization and international collaboration far outweighed any possible threats to development, such as fierce competition in trade and lack of quality water. The researcher also made specific recommendations based on the information gathered in the study. These recommendations were based on the findings of the study, and they were directed to leaders within the Tunisian agriculture system and other agriculturalists wishing to further development in countries facing similar situations as Tunisia.

Since the 1960s, over 65,000 young Canadians have participated in volunteer abroad programs (Tiessen, 2008). Lately, the media and academia have questioned and criticized the benefits of volunteerism as development. This study highlights how issues of power and privilege extend beyond the individual, and reaches into institutional structures. The research design uses Institutional Ethnography (IE) as a method of inquiry, and maps out the social relations between the experiences of seven former youth volunteers and field staff, and their organizations. The aim is to explore how to improve individual and organizational pedagogy in the field of international volunteering, so that equity becomes a commitment by everyone in the development of sustainable and just communities.

Since the 1960s, over 65,000 young Canadians have participated in volunteer abroad programs (Tiessen, 2008). Lately, the media and academia have questioned and criticized the benefits of volunteerism as development. This study highlights how issues of power and privilege extend beyond the individual, and reaches into institutional structures. The research design uses Institutional Ethnography (IE) as a method of inquiry, and maps out the social relations between the experiences of seven former youth volunteers and field staff, and their organizations. The aim is to explore how to improve individual and organizational pedagogy in the field of international volunteering, so that equity becomes a commitment by everyone in the development of sustainable and just communities.

The purpose of this study was to synthesize emergent agricultural development reports related to post-conflict needs assessments in eight southern Iraqi provinces. This study is an empirical case study of Post Conflict Agricultural Development Assessments and Strategies in Eight Southern Iraqi Provinces. The objective is a systems approach using qualitative and quantitative methods to improve Iraqi agricultural practice, extension and training, community development, security, and policies for governance. The design called for a case study and a description of pre-deployment activities of a military-based civilian assessment team, initial organization and adjustments, and techniques for internal and external communication. Particular attention was given to agricultural specialties, crosscutting constructs, and data collection and analysis protocols in eight provinces in Iraq. Three objectives were identified to achieve the purpose of this study. The first objective was to identify emergent agricultural development themes from each of the eight Iraqi provinces. The second objective was to identify emergent agricultural development trends from each of the eight Iraqi provinces. A third objective was to provide relevant case documentation to assist in future agricultural development/post conflict development efforts. It was found that Iraqi agricultural production lags due to many factors, including counter productive government policies that undermine productivity, distort local economies, and confound security issues and competition via subsidized credit and agricultural inputs. Outdated technology and undertrained producers lacking knowledge of production related areas such as plant and animal genetics, fertilizers, irrigation and drainage systems and farm equipment. Inadequate and unstable electricity availability and provision, degradation of irrigation-infrastructure and management systems, a complete lack of or insufficient access to credit and private capital as well as inadequate market development and network infrastructure have all taken their toll on evolution and improvement of agricultural growth in southern Iraq. It may be that the largest threat to the future of Iraq is not violence, but the diminishing hope of young people caused by their inability to obtain vocational based skills training and the lack of jobs that match such skills. A pervasive lack of job opportunities or perceived lack of job availability may encourage continued civil unrest and possibly continue the insurgency. In order to address this issue, an aggressive youth development focus can make a positive impact in the current society. A majority of youth without useful skills are forced to abandon the farm and move to cities or to pursue other means of earning income in rural areas.

Texas A&M University of the United States and the Institute National Agronomique de Tunisie (INAT) of Tunisia established a collaborative relationship of mutual exchange of information and ideas for the further advancement of both universities. The researcher worked closely with these universities to conduct a qualitative study in Tunisia to determine the effectiveness of agricultural institutions working to further development in that country. The emphasis of the study was on the transference of knowledge and innovations from the research level through extension to the farmers and other end users. The triangle of teaching, research, and extension provided a base perspective. The researcher interviewed 37 respondents, including researchers, extension personnel, administration, professors, and farmers. From data that respondents provided, the researcher used a constant comparative method to organize results into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the agricultural institutions as a system. Overarching themes included a pointed focus on meeting farmer needs, but this desire was hindered from being carried out fully due to complex communication systems and an organizational structure that did not facilitate change. Hope did abound for Tunisian agriculturalists because the opportunities available through globalization and international collaboration far outweighed any possible threats to development, such as fierce competition in trade and lack of quality water. The researcher also made specific recommendations based on the information gathered in the study. These recommendations were based on the findings of the study, and they were directed to leaders within the Tunisian agriculture system and other agriculturalists wishing to further development in countries facing similar situations as Tunisia.

Youth unemployment is a critical issue in Southern Africa, exacerbating poverty, crime, violence, food insecurity, and rural-urban migration. In Botswana, the Young Farmers Fund (YFF) was established to cultivate youth entrepreneurship in agriculture to mitigate these issues. The aim of this research is to explore and explain the experiences, circumstances and knowledge of youth participants and assess the extent to which the program succeeds as a development strategy. To do so, the research establishes a conceptual framework investigating how contextual and individual variables influence the outcomes of participants’ projects. Interviews with program participants and key informants and review of relevant literature expose critical themes. These are examined through content analysis and inform research conclusions. Findings reveal why the program is facing a number of challenges. The research is thus valuable for informing policy and program (re)development and affirms the value and adaptability of the conceptual framework across multiple development contexts. / SSHRC

In the past twenty years an increasing number of Global South nations have vied for the rights to host prestigious and expensive sport mega events. This trend requires significant reflection given the enormous economic costs of these events, which often produce little capital gain for the host nation (Whitson & Horne, 2006). Furthermore, sport mega events are often utilized for their symbolic capital (Belanger, 2009), which sometimes manifests through forcing people from their land for the sake of “beautification” (Davis, 2006). In this project, then, I asked how technologies of power were utilized by FIFA, corporate stakeholders, and the South African government to control people who were marginal to, or impeded the success of, the World Cup in Nelspruit, South Africa. This project consisted of two parts: the first involved constructing a theoretical framework for better understanding power as it operates through sport mega events in general. To this end I employed Marxian notions of the ordering of physical space, Foucauldian conceptions of sovereignty and governmentality, and Agamben’s (1998) state of exception to determine how particular bodies are constituted and controlled through sport mega events. In the second part, I applied this theoretical framework to the events in South Africa to better elucidate how people became displaced and killed because of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. I used South African popular news and documentaries as empirical evidence and conducted a discursive analysis of said news media. Through this coverage it became apparent that the mega event created the conditions in which new forms of rogue sovereign partnerships could arise through a historically and spatially contingent process of capitalism. The rogue sovereigns’ para-juridico-political orders, the discourses and practices of accumulation by dispossession as a tactic and effect of govermentality, and other historical non-capital subjectivities such as racial identity, all contributed to constituting Agamben’s state of exception in which people could be displaced, killed or left to die in the events surrounding the World Cup. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2011-08-25 12:25:02.401