Growing world poverty is a paramount problem for international development assistance organizations. Substantial multilateral funding, coupled with decades of development assistance activity, has done little to reduce poverty in the less developed countries. Globalized market-led development continues to be the conventional approach towards the resolution of this problem. This thesis argues that the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) promotion of the globalization discourse and its adherence to a market-led development philosophy and practice have restricted its ability to effectively reduce world poverty. Rooted historically in the establishment and maintenance of the post-war hegemonic world order, the UNDP represents part of the institutional framework that was designed to protect and advance Western economic and political interests. This paper employs discourse analysis to evaluate the UNDP's response to two specific world order crises--the first in 1975 and the second in 1990. The thesis also uses a method of critical analysis in order to isolate and analyze points of contradiction within the discourse/project orientation of the UNDP. Thus, by questioning and critically exposing the UNDP's adherence to a market-led development approach, this thesis will systematically deconstruct the UNDP's discourse thereby revealing the otherwise disguised power relationships revolving within and around the organization.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/4157 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | Nelson, David. |
| Contributors | Laux, J., |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 106 p. |
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