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.

PH.D., Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011 / Through a case study of the relationship between the rural Makuleke community and the regional tourism operator Wilderness Safaris, this thesis examines the impact of tourism partnerships on community development in post-­‐ apartheid South Africa. The study considers the tourism component of the ‘Makuleke model’, a concept used frequently in academic and popular literature to refer to the community’s landmark land restitution case involving the Kruger National Park (KNP). Thirty years after experiencing a forced removal by the apartheid regime, the Makuleke community in 1998 was able to regain their lost land (the Pafuri area of Kruger National Park) and benefit from it through conservation and tourism. The Makuleke have partnered with three tourism operators, their main concessionaire being Wilderness Safaris. Their contractual agreement obliges the tourism company to pay lease fees to the Makuleke Communal Property Association (CPA) and to employ Makuleke residents. To further community development, Wilderness Safaris established a joint venture with the Makuleke CPA, and also runs an environmental education programme for children. Evidence for this thesis was collected over a two and a half year period (from May 2007 to December 2009) using three methodological approaches: archival research, participant observation and semi-­‐structured, open-­‐ended interviews. In analysing the Makuleke CPA-­‐Wilderness Safaris partnership, findings reveal that ten years after the land claim, the commended ‘Makuleke model’ is neither as conceptually coherent nor as practically successful as is commonly supposed. I argue that although the model denotes success, a closer scrutiny of its foundations, assumptions and context expose inherent forces and practices that hinder its long-­‐ term effective implementation. Influenced by post-­‐development theory, I question perceptions of equality in benefit distribution, critique the juxtaposition of traditional with modern values, and examine contestations over power within the Makuleke community. I demonstrate how these features undermine the potential for the genuine transformation and broad-­‐based social upliftment that tourism-­‐led development purposes to achieve at Makuleke. My research findings confirm post-­‐development theoretical propositions that criticise the contradictions in orthodox development procedures and call for a rethinking of the premises upon which approaches to community upliftment through tourism are generally founded.

This thesis presents a case study of Sweden’s foreign relations with Mozambique. It has been conducted in a deductive way departing from Arturo Escobar’s post-development theory, and with qualitative textual and content analysis combined with a semi-structured interview as methods. The aim of the study has been to test post-development theory on a least likely case, i.e. a case least likely to prove the theory right. The question being posed is whether countries giving foreign aid are doing so with altruistic or egoistic motives, and the starting point for this case study is the supposition that Sweden might exhibit a degree of altruism in its foreign policy. Sweden has been chosen as an example of an odd man out-state in international perspective, in order to ascertain whether structuralist critiques of the Western establishment and its development practices hold true or not. The results of this study show a mixed picture, where certain criteria of Escobar’s theory are found even in this least likely case; however, they are not fulfilled to the maximum, and the study also shows deep flaws in Escobar’s theory. The thesis presents a scrutiny of the historical relations between Sweden and Mozambique and moves on to a reading of official documents from Swedish authorities. Escobar’s cynical view of the Western establishment as consisting exclusively of malicious plutocrats is challenged, acknowledged and questioned at the same time. The study teaches us that there are exceptions to the rule, and that it might be dangerous to be so categorical in one’s assessments.

Volunteer tourism is a globally, popular and well-known field in which anyone may participate. During recent years the industry has increasingly received some criticism, in contrast to the otherwise quite commonly positive view of it. Hence, this thesis is taking a closer look at the industry and the discourse surrounding it and how the public opinion has changed during the last years. It will bring into light the impact volunteer tourism has both on the local communities and the volunteer tourists themselves. This will be done with respect to the following cases; positive, critical and seeing both sides of the discourse. The data derives from secondary and tertiary sources, the majority from articles from four of the world’s biggest newspapers. Post-Development theory will be used to identify the ideas regarding the discourse, which will be done with an approach of structured, focused comparison and critical discourse analysis. Additionally it will aim to identify the pros and cons with volunteer tourism and discuss why one of the perspectives might require more attention than it has had up until now. Significantly though, it will aim to provide the reader with an overall and objective view of the field.

Whithin the recent human centered development approach, the mission of development&#039 / s declared aims are alleviating poverty, increasing choices by reducing &#039 / risks&#039 / and empowering women. In line with the human development framework, Reproductive Health program aims at improving women&#039 / s health, enlarging women&#039 / s chices and engendering reproductive rights. The scope of &#039 / empowerment&#039 / is conceptualized as strenthening their capabilities to prevent sexual reproductive health risks, thereby enlarging their reproductive choices whithout reflecting on the role of general political economic structures. this thesis argues that while general health indicators and life choices and rights of poor women are decreasing due to neoliberal shrinkage of social policy and flexible working regimes, the sole focus on reproductive health and rights by development agents is irrelevant. In line with this argument, this study draws upon post-development theory in order to argue that development is a historically specific representation of social reality which permits particular modes of knowing while disqualifying others for perpetuating gobal hegemonic regimes.

How do indigenous people perceive and practice eco-agriculture, especially when it was introduced as a development project? This thesis aims to delve into this question by focusing on a policy-induced agrarian transition for Pumi community in Sino-Myanmar borderlands. Using ethnographic methods, I intend to offer an intimate account of a provincial programme to facilitate eco-agriculture in this ethnic region. With the conceptual framework presented, the current research starts with the introduction of Pumi agricultural history and indigenous farming knowledge, with a focus on Pumi biocultural heritage. Then, I will examine how the process of ‘indigenisation of modernity’ (Sahlins 2000) has occurred against the backdrop of Pumi eco-agriculture programme. The insights will be distilled from three different aspects, which are agricultural land use, technical practices, and governance issues. For each aspect, I will scrutinise to what degree the government is following an industrial model to design the eco-agriculture agenda which corresponds to the ‘conventionalisation hypothesis’ of organic production (Buck 1997) and is thus in alignment with their long-term strategic goals to ‘modernise’ this borderland region through agricultural transformations, whereas the local Pumi farmers are actively coping with the government’s external interventions, meanwhile searching for the ‘alternative pathway’ towards agricultural modernisation. In the final chapter, I will interpret the motives of the both actors in the programme. For the government, the post-development theory will be employed to provide a critique of the ‘development discourse’ embedded in the agenda. For local farmers, the concept of ‘environmentality’ (Agrawal 2005) will be focused to interpret the Pumi farmers’ motives to indigenise, which ultimately questioning the transforming powers of modernity and globalisation on Pumi agrarian society. Basically, this thesis aims to trace the socio-political processes which drive the ‘agrarian transition’ in a Southeast Asian frontier, and further demonstrate how the resource abundance in the borderlands can underpin intense processes of commodification and dispossession (Nevins and Peluso 2008; Ishikawa 2010; see also Milne and Mahanty, 2015), the implications of which crystallised in an ethnographic context. To a larger extent, this research aims to shed lights on the interactions between social structure and individual agency ― although the Pumi farmers are struggling to survive with the adaptation to modern inputs, they are still marginalised by the structured inequality of the market economy, which limited the farmers’ opportunities to improve their own livelihoods. Furthermore, this research also has significant policy implications as it addresses the issues such as agricultural policy and ethnic relations in the borderland regions. By reflecting upon the overlapping implications of highland livelihoods, agencies, and the transforming powers of social change, the current study aims to build a locally rooted understanding of Pumi eco-agriculture programme, and provide lessons for sustainable planning and future policy-making for rural development in developing countries such as China.

Apartheid left a legacy that is spatially skewed. This is reflected in the present patterns of poverty and inequality in South Africa. While a number of global and national initiatives are in place to reduce the levels of poverty and inequality in rural South Africa, this research aimed at the development of a tool that would be able to assist communities themselves in reducing their own levels of poverty and inequality. This research was undertaken in collaboration with the Greater Rustenburg Community Foundation and a variety of rural communities in South Africa. The Community Asset Mapping Programme (CAMP) has as its purpose the achievement of sustainable and responsible high impact social change within communities. CAMP enables community members to map their own assets and empowers them to use these assets sustainably to create a better life for themselves. Communities are empowered to identify their own entrepreneurship and livelihood strategies and opportunities in an attempt to generate their own wealth. Unlike many existing asset mapping applications, CAMP advocates that the success of any roots-driven change depends on the inclusion of processes that will provide a cognitive shift in terms of a variety of processes such as wishes, fears, trust, self-worth, and power mapping, all providing different components that ensure a process of sustainable change within communities. The research presents an argument that if communities are to achieve effective roots-driven change they would require partnerships with Non Profit Organisations, government, civil society, business, and institutes of higher learning, who are willing to stand aside and allow communities to decide their own priorities in their journey to achieve their own wealth, but who would be willing to provide funding, mentorship, skills, and a continuous monitoring process over the medium to long term. / Sociology / Ph.D. (Geography)

Apartheid left a legacy that is spatially skewed. This is reflected in the present patterns of poverty and inequality in South Africa. While a number of global and national initiatives are in place to reduce the levels of poverty and inequality in rural South Africa, this research aimed at the development of a tool that would be able to assist communities themselves in reducing their own levels of poverty and inequality. This research was undertaken in collaboration with the Greater Rustenburg Community Foundation and a variety of rural communities in South Africa. The Community Asset Mapping Programme (CAMP) has as its purpose the achievement of sustainable and responsible high impact social change within communities. CAMP enables community members to map their own assets and empowers them to use these assets sustainably to create a better life for themselves. Communities are empowered to identify their own entrepreneurship and livelihood strategies and opportunities in an attempt to generate their own wealth. Unlike many existing asset mapping applications, CAMP advocates that the success of any roots-driven change depends on the inclusion of processes that will provide a cognitive shift in terms of a variety of processes such as wishes, fears, trust, self-worth, and power mapping, all providing different components that ensure a process of sustainable change within communities. The research presents an argument that if communities are to achieve effective roots-driven change they would require partnerships with Non Profit Organisations, government, civil society, business, and institutes of higher learning, who are willing to stand aside and allow communities to decide their own priorities in their journey to achieve their own wealth, but who would be willing to provide funding, mentorship, skills, and a continuous monitoring process over the medium to long term. / Geography / Ph. D. (Geography)