Cambodia has a strong presence of international donor agencies and expatriate development practitioners. The role of international donors in making government increasingly gender responsive is believed to be immense. This thesis contends that most expatriate and Cambodian development practitioners have different perceptions on the issue due to cultural influences. Due to these differences sometimes there emerge incongruence in the approach (that is often determined by international players) and the beliefs of most national practitioners who are responsible to implement these approaches. The problem of domestic violence is used as a case in point to demonstrate this incongruence. The thesis argues that the differences in views do not get discussed and thereafter resolved because the communication processes being followed are not open and dialogical in nature. It suggests that there are two primary reasons that come in the way of dialogic communication. One is related to the hierarchically different positions that expatriates and Cambodian practitioners occupy in the context of development work. The other is related to the difference in the perceptions of the practitioners depending on their degree of connectedness with the cultural setting. The thesis concludes that there is a need for introspection by the development practitioners for the reasons that may lie within them and their organizations for this communication gap. This is essential for initiating communication processes that are open so that the development practitioners may begin to arrive at common understanding as well as trusting relationships. The study is conducted following the tenets of the “naturalistic inquiry” as proposed by Lincoln and Guba (1985).

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Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This thesis presents a postcolonial critique of development and academic discourses in the context of the South Pacific. Focusing on Fiji’s aid industry, I challenge the apparent inevitabilities underpinning an increasingly narrow and parochial donor ‘good governance’ agenda in the region. I also confront geography’s sojourns in, and on, the ‘Third World’ laying bare a number of epistemological and methodological inconsistencies. Having exposed various definitional rigidities produced by these discourses, I emphasise the decentred and nuanced meanings and ways of envisioning ‘development’ enabled by postcolonial sensibilities. The thesis has three primary aims. First, to highlight the constraining and enabling aspects of discourses. I emphasise the productive features of development discourse; its framing attributes, fragility and transformative potential, drawing on the activities and intentions of NGOs and donor organisations operating in Fiji. Second, I draw attention to the way ‘identities’ form and shape aid relations in the country. Again, utilising examples from Fiji’s aid industry, I foreground the centrality of ‘traditions’, religion, gender and ethnicity in ‘development’ and critique their virtual silence in donor policies and programmes in the region. Finally, I ‘unpack’ the way academia intervenes in development settings. Here I suggest that any reflection on the relevance of research will inevitably involve taking methodology seriously and posing fundamental questions about why we are there in the first place. Advocating more than a methodological revisionism, I argue that ‘doing development differently’ will involve reorienting development relations and embarking on a far-reaching mission to subvert development’s self-evidence while proposing and supporting collaborative efforts that explore negotiated and newly emerging cultural forms.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This thesis presents a postcolonial critique of development and academic discourses in the context of the South Pacific. Focusing on Fiji’s aid industry, I challenge the apparent inevitabilities underpinning an increasingly narrow and parochial donor ‘good governance’ agenda in the region. I also confront geography’s sojourns in, and on, the ‘Third World’ laying bare a number of epistemological and methodological inconsistencies. Having exposed various definitional rigidities produced by these discourses, I emphasise the decentred and nuanced meanings and ways of envisioning ‘development’ enabled by postcolonial sensibilities. The thesis has three primary aims. First, to highlight the constraining and enabling aspects of discourses. I emphasise the productive features of development discourse; its framing attributes, fragility and transformative potential, drawing on the activities and intentions of NGOs and donor organisations operating in Fiji. Second, I draw attention to the way ‘identities’ form and shape aid relations in the country. Again, utilising examples from Fiji’s aid industry, I foreground the centrality of ‘traditions’, religion, gender and ethnicity in ‘development’ and critique their virtual silence in donor policies and programmes in the region. Finally, I ‘unpack’ the way academia intervenes in development settings. Here I suggest that any reflection on the relevance of research will inevitably involve taking methodology seriously and posing fundamental questions about why we are there in the first place. Advocating more than a methodological revisionism, I argue that ‘doing development differently’ will involve reorienting development relations and embarking on a far-reaching mission to subvert development’s self-evidence while proposing and supporting collaborative efforts that explore negotiated and newly emerging cultural forms.

This thesis focuses on the phenomenon of remittances (money or products sent by migrants to their countries of origin) and their relation to current development discourse. The volumes of remittances are still growing and this revenue has become especially significant for developing countries. This thesis, therefore, does not only focus on the economic contribution of remittances but analyses them in a broader context. Its aim is to find whether and how do remittances contribute to the overall development of poor countries. This thesis offers a historical overview of developmental discourse and followed by specification of four key concepts of current development (empowerment, ownership, good governance and sustainable development), whereby this thesis constitutes a framework for further analysis. Remittances are substantially connected to the concepts of empowerment and ownership. They enable the recipients to meet their needs more freely and decide how to invest their money. From the point of views of good government concept, it is important, that remittances can help to put more pressure on the democratization of developing countries. Fulfilment of these concepts, as well as the stability of remittances, implies, that this revenue supports sustainable development in poor countries. This thesis is...

Agenda 2030 has reached its half-way mark, making it a highly relevant topic to examine. A critical discourse analysis (CDA) is applied through this research to identify the underlying norms and values of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 8 (decent work and economic growth) and 10 (reduced inequalities). The post-development theory provides five key concepts (economic growth, developed/developing countries, modernity and change and a lack of social, environmental and cultural aspects) that serve as the lens on which we view the SDGs. The analysis brings a new perspective to the limitations and challenges within Agenda 2030, while also identifying goal conflicts within and between the goals. The discourse within SDGs 8 and 10 shows traces of these five key concepts. Terms such as economic growth, developed and developing countries, innovation, modernity and change are mentioned throughout the respective targets. Other phenomena, although promised to be addressed, are being left out, such as cultural differences and non-economic forms of inequality. Further research indicated that the two goals came with dissimilarities and similarities, both within and between them. The similarities showed, although SDGs 8 and 10 are representing two different focuses, (economic and human rights) they shared almost identical underlying notions, namely the clear focus on economic development. These findings indicate a potential pitfall within Agenda 2030 in regards to their narrow and uncoordinated choice of making two goals with different intentions share the same objective. The dissimilarities became evident when some targets within SDG 8 promoted policies that would lead to less economic growth. The same can be said for SDG 10, as some policies would also contradict SDG 8’s aim. SDG 10 also contains certain targets that wrongfully use the term equality, contradicting the aim of the goal. Other similarities include certain contradictory statements between the targets in both goals.

The United Nations category Least Developed country (LDC) was created in 1971 to ameliorate conditions in countries the UN identified as the poorest of the poor. Its administration and operation within UN development discourse has not been explored previously in academic analysis. This thesis explores this rich archive of development discourse. It seeks to situate the LDC category as a vehicle that both produces and is a product of development discourse, and uses gender analysis as a critical tool to identify the ways in which the LDC category discourse operates. The thesis draws on Foucauldian theory to develop and use the concept ‘technologies of knowledge’, which places the dynamics of LDC discourse into relief. Three technologies of knowledge are identified: LDC policy, classification through criteria, and data. The ways each of these technologies of knowledge operates are explored through detailed readings of over thirty years of UN policy documents that form the thesis’s primary source material. A central question within this thesis is: If the majority of the world’s poor are women, where are the women in the policy about the countries that are the poorest of the poor? In focusing the analysis on the representation of women in LDCs, I place women at the centre of the analytic stage, as opposed to the marginal position I have found they occupy within LDC discourse. Through this analysis of the reductionist representations of LDC women, I explore the gendered dynamics of development discourse. Exploring the operation of these three technologies of knowledge reveals some of the discursive boundaries of UN LDC category discourse, particularly through its inability to incorporate gender analysis. The discussion of these three technologies of knowledge – policy, classification through criteria, and data – is framed by discussions of development and gender. The discussion on development positions this analysis within post-development critiques of development policy, practice and theory. The discussion on gender positions this analysis within the trajectory of postmodern and postcolonial influenced feminist engagements with development as a theory and praxis, particularly with debates about the representation of women in the third world. This case study of the operation of development discourse usefully highlights gendered dynamics of discursive ways of knowing.

Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the Gulf Coast and the United States in August of 2005. While an emerging literature base details the consequences and lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, a critical missing piece for understanding Hurricane Katrina American landfall is a rhetorical perspective. I argue a rhetorical perspective can significantly contribute to a better understanding of Hurricane Katrina’s implications for creating policy, community and identity. As a case study, I employ Kenneth Burke’s cluster analysis to examine the use of the label “Third World” to describe New Orleans, the Gulf Coast and the United States in the mass media coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

This thesis examines how preparatory, policy and review documents of the Participatory Rangeland Management (PRM) in East Africa, problematize and represent the ‘problems’ which resulted in the design of the development program. The focus is on how these problematizations can hinder or facilitate participation, influence and empowerment of women and marginalized groups in decision-making processes. The findings are based on a gender-based policy analysis undertaken of five documents written by the NGOs involved in the planning and implementation of PRM in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. A conceptual framework measuring the level of participation, empowerment and influence was constructed to assess the policies and their possible outcomes. The document analysis showed that the implicit ‘problem’ themes identified appeared to be that communities were unmodern, undeveloped, and had under-representation of women and pastoralists in rangeland management. These problematizations seem to originate from a development discourse characterized by solutions focussing on ‘modernization’ and ‘technical fixes’. These pre-conceived ideas of the ’problems’ call for more communication and inclusion of community groups in problem formulation and program design. The analysis further revealed that expert-assisted and gender-mainstreaming initiatives such as the PRM could have a positive impact on the level of participation, influence, and empowerment of women. When training was carried out for both women and men by the PRM to raise awareness of women’s rights, it resulted in an increased number of women participating in activities. However, gender-mainstreaming should not stop with participation, it should be further developed towards influence and empowerment. The PRM could consider promoting a change of power relations by combining efforts to demonstrate the benefits of meaningful consultations to decision-makers and efforts to enhance the knowledge and skills of marginalized groups so that they can better engage with these decision-makers. Furthermore, there is a need to expand the discussion on how to design gender-mainstreaming policies and practices, without labelling women as one.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to think anew about the involvement of the Christian churches in strategic development. The author undertook such an exercise in an abstract and general manner, not by undertaking specific case studies, but by applying various development and social sciences debates to come to a new understanding of the churches' meaningful participation in the broad area of development. The notion of the churches as 'idea' and 'value' institutions in the field of development was particularly developed. The study found its critical point of departure in the ecumenical theological debate on development over the last four decades. The first three chapters show how the charity-development juxtaposition in ecumenical development discourse problematises and frames the historical and actual participation of the churches in development. It is indicated that this discourse poses a critical theoretical and ideological challenge not only to the churches' socio-economic involvement through charity, but also to the mainstream secular development enterprise. It is concluded through the pragmatic debate in the broader ecumenical development discourse that an enduring divide exists between progressive theoretical thinking on the churches' participation in development and the actual development practices of the churches. It is concluded, akin to an historical charity involvement, that the churches have, generally speaking, been over-investing in project approaches to development at the cost of modes of engagement which highlight an idea- and value-centred development praxis. In chapters four to seven the argument is further developed through the conceptual framework of third and fourth generation development strategies. Through ideas on this conceptual framework, which were first formulated by David Korten in NGO and peoplecentred development debates, but which have also been extended to broader 'alternative' development and social sciences debates within the analytic framework of this study, the idea- and value-centred perspective in this study was further worked out and applied to the churches. It is concluded that the conceptual framework of third generation development strategies poses an appropriate (public) challenge to the churches to become involved in the policy-making, managerial and organisational processes of development. In contrast to a 'politics of limited space' which the third generation mode presents to the churches, it is maintained that the 'unlimited political space' of the fourth generation mode of development involvement is more appropriate to the churches. It is argued that the churches could most effectively and meaningfully participate in the new transnational social movement 'value' and 'idea' politics (e.g. peace, human rights, women, environment, democracy, people-centred development) prioritised in the fourth generation strategic perspective. This argument is further worked out in the final chapter through the proposal of four beacons of action that may guide the churches to become meaningful participants in fourth (and third) generation strategic development action, namely (i) the new social movements, (ii) the new communication solidarities, (iii) alternative development policy, and (iv) 'soft culture'. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die studie was om opnuut te dink oor die strategiese betrokkenheid van die kerke in ontwikkeling. Die skrywer het sodanige oefening op 'n abstrakte en algemene wyse onderneem deur geen spesifieke gevalle studies te doen nie, maar deur verskeie ontwikkelings- en sosiaal wetenskaplike debatte toe te pas om tot 'n nuwe verstaan van die kerke se betekenisvolle deelname in die breë veld van ontwikkeling te kom. Die konsep van die kerke as 'idee' en 'waarde' instellings in die veld van ontwikkeling is spesifiek ontwikkel. Die studie het die ekumeniese teologiese debat oor ontwikkeling van die laaste vier dekades as kritiese vertrekpunt geneem. In die eerste drie hoofstukke word aangetoon hoe die barmhartigheid-ontwikkeling jukstaposisie in die ekumeniese ontwikkelingsdiskoers die historiese en teenswoordige deelname van die kerke in ontwikkeling problematiseer en bepaal. Daar word aangedui hoe hierdie diskoers nie slegs 'n kritiese teoretiese en ideologiese uitdaging aan die kerke se sosioekonomiese betrokkenheid deur middel van barmhartigheidswerk bied nie, maar ook aan die hoofstroom sekulêre ontwikkelingsonderneming. Aan die hand van die pragmatiese debat in die breër ekumeniese ontwikkelingsdiskoers word die gevolgtrekking gemaak dat daar 'n blywende skeiding bestaan tussen progressiewe teoretiese denke oor die kerke se deelname aan ontwikkeling en die teenswoordige ontwikkelingspraktyke van die kerke. Daar word gekonkludeer dat die kerke op 'n soortgelyke wyse as hulle historiese betrokkenheid deur middel van barmhartigheidswerk in die algemeen oorgeïnvesteer het in projek benaderings tot ontwikkeling ten koste van maniere van betrokkenheid wat 'n idee en waarde gesentreerde ontwikkelingspraktyk beklemtoon. In hoofstukke vier tot sewe word die argument verder ontwikkel aan die hand van die konseptuele raamwerk van derde en vierde generasie ontwikkelingstrategieë. Aan die hand van idees oor hierdie konseptuele raamwerk, wat eerstens deur David Korten in NRO en mensgesentreerde ontwikkelingsdebatte geformuleer is, maar binne die analitiese raamwerk van hierdie studie ook neerslag vind in wyer 'alternatiewe' ontwikkelings- en sosiaal wetenskaplike debatte, is die idee en waarde gesentreerde perspektief in die studie verder uitgewerk en toegepas op die kerke. Die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dat die konseptuele raamwerk van derde generasie ontwikkelingstrategieë 'n gepaste (publieke) uitdaging aan die kerke bied om betrokke te raak by die beleidmakende, bestuurs- en organisatoriese prosesse van ontwikkeling. Teenoor 'n 'politiek van beperkte ruimte' wat die derde generasie wyse van betrokkenheid vir die kerke verteenwoordig, word volgehou dat die 'onbeperkte politieke ruimte' van die vierde generasie wyse van betrokkenheid meer gepas is vir die kerke. Daar word geargumenteer dat die kerke op 'n mees effektiewe en betekenisvolle wyse sou kon deelneem aan die 'waarde' en 'idee' politiek (bv. vrede, mense regte, vroue, omgewing, demokrasie, mensgesentreede ontwikkeling) wat in die vierde generasie strategiese perspektief voorrang geniet. Hierdie argument word verder uitgewerk in die finale hoofstuk deur die voorstel van vier bakens van aksie wat as rigtingwyser kan dien vir die kerke se voorgenome betekenisvolle deelname in vierde (en derde) generasie strategiese ontwikkelingsaksie, naamlik (i) die nuwe sosiale bewegings, (ii) die nuwe kommunikasie solidariteite, (iii) alternatiewe ontwikkelingsbeleid en (iv) 'sagte kultuur'.