Eye level, help to self-help, partnership - these are words constantly heard in the context of »development cooperation«. However, the notion »development« can be criticized for being a continuation of colonial thought patterns; a bare reproduction of western interests. Still, most western aid organizations claim as it were self-evident, that they practice a »development partnership« on equal footing with the global South. At first glance, it might seem obvious, that a relationship where there is a ‘donor’ and a ‘receiver’ can never be at eye level, because the donor has the power to decide when, how much, how long and for what (s)he wants to contribute. This directly implies a dependency, where the donor can set conditions which the receiver has to comply with. It is surprising, that even though the vast majority of western agents in this field of research and practice are very much aware of the diverse criticisms of their activities, they often do not realize that the relationship between the global North and South is constituted as a constellation of antagonisms, which were born in colonial times and frame the idea of »development cooperation« until today.
Colonial narratives of uncivilized versus civilized, traditional versus modern shape both our understanding and the order of the world. Thus, »development cooperation« is discerned through the glasses of postcolonial scholarship as a continuity to colonialism. Mostly overlooking this impressive compromise of postcolonialism, western development scholarship and practice defend their mission by arguing that injustices are happening in the global South, such as malnutrition or death due to diseases, which might not be too difficult to solve with the adequate transfer of knowledge and finances from the global North. An enlightening interpretation of the development project and its postcolonial criticisms has been provided by Christine Sylvester’s essay Disparate tales of the »Third World«.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Develop-mental turn within political science and human geography
2.1 From growth theory to postdevelopment critics
2.2 What is development cooperation?
2.3 Postcolonial studies and their influences on »development«.
2.3.1 Othering and dichotomization, a tool for colonial suppression
2.3.2 The linearity of »development« – universalization of a “western” norm
2.3.3 A neo-colonial praxis - western interests and manifestation of dependency
2.3.4 The problem of representation – “speaking for” instead of “speaking with”
3. Methodology
3.1 Auto-ethnography
3.1.1 What auto-ethnography is and how it is applied
3.1.2 The GlobalMatch concept and its interrelation with the researchers’ self.
3.1.3 Critical considerations on auto-ethnography and flaws to avoid
3.2 Conversations open interview
3.3 Discourse analysis
3.4 Literature analysis
4. The GlobalMatch concept in the face of postcolonial critics.
4.1 Let´s overcome the ‘us’ and ‘them’ dichotomy!
4.1.1 Target group – Demarcation of the global North and South?
4.1.2 Time, punctuality, reliability – who sets the rules?
4.1.3 Dropouts - They only ask me for money.
4.2 Countering the western »development« norm?
4.2.1 Project collaboration – Role, self-image and perception of the participants?
4.2.2 Accept it, there will never be equal footing - the role of infrastructure.
4.3 What a nice idea with no effect! – Go for the system
5. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This dissertation critically examines the mission and experiences of the social venture GlobalMatch, an online platform connecting individuals from the global North and South. It investigates whether unequal global power relations can be overcome through joint, one-to-one project work, exploring if the concept perpetuates or dissolves postcolonial power dynamics.
- The persistence of colonial thought patterns in contemporary »development cooperation«.
- Application of auto-ethnographic research methods to analyze North-South project collaborations.
- Deconstruction of the 'us' vs. 'them' dichotomy within online tandem partnerships.
- Analysis of structural inequalities, including infrastructure and financial dependencies, in North-South relations.
- Critique of the »development« narrative and its reproduction of western hegemony.
Excerpt from the Book
2.3.1 Othering and dichotomization, a tool for colonial suppression
In his book Orientalism (1985), Edward Said showed how colonialism operated through a discursive regime of knowledge. Said argues that the West acquired its own identity in an act of demarcation from non-western »cultures«, which it constructed as ‘Orient’, ‘East’ or ‚Other’. Rendering places beyond the boundaries of Europe ‘knowable’ in this way made them governable and allowed the colonial powers to exercise control over them (Said 1985). Thus, a dichotomous world (the west and the rest), which was already described by Franz Fanon (1961), who is famous for his observations of colonialism and its legacies, was manifested: „During the insurrectional stage every colonist reasons on the basis of simple arithmetic (…) the principle ‘It´s them or us’ (…) is precisely the organization of a Manicheans world, of a compartmentalized world.“ (Fanon 1961: 43)
Moreover, postcolonial scholarship explains, that in the period of the enlightenment, when Europe fought for freedom and equality, there was the need to justify the oppression, enslavement, murder and rape of colonized people. By objectifying and classifying them as animals, which had to be dominated and educated their tutelage was legitimized (Bhabha 2002). Moreover, it is said that Europeans have projected onto people who were considered non-European as everything that they forbid themselves to be. Thus, the ‚Other‘ was not only positioned as bestial, lazy and devious but also stigmatized with supposedly positive characteristics such as exotic, erotic and emotional (Mannoni 1990). This colonial racism - the idea that Europeans have the right and even the duty to improve other people and societies - continues to the present. Moreover, the dichotomous worldview, with all its stereotypes about the ‘Other‘ as a ‘single group” is repeatedly reproduced in western discourses and media (glokal e. V. 2016: 36).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Introduces the research context of »development cooperation« as a continuation of colonial patterns and defines the GlobalMatch social venture.
2. Develop-mental turn within political science and human geography: Provides a historical overview of development theories, from modernization to postcolonial critiques, and clarifies the concept of development cooperation.
3. Methodology: Details the auto-ethnographic framework used for this research, explaining the integration of discourse analysis and individual narratives.
4. The GlobalMatch concept in the face of postcolonial critics.: Analyzes the practical challenges of the GlobalMatch project, such as communication gaps, financial disparities, and the reproduction of colonial roles.
5. Conclusion: Synthesizes the findings, reflecting on the limitations of mere one-to-one encounters in overcoming systemic, historically shaped global power imbalances.
Keywords
Postcolonialism, Development Cooperation, GlobalMatch, Auto-ethnography, Global North and South, Power Relations, Discourse Analysis, Colonialism, Othering, Social Entrepreneurship, Structural Inequality, Solidarity, Development Studies, Representation, Subalternity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental subject of this dissertation?
This work examines the social venture "GlobalMatch" and questions whether individual-level, one-to-one online collaborations between people from the global North and South can effectively overcome historically rooted global power inequalities.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The core themes include postcolonial theory, the critique of traditional development cooperation, the study of power dynamics in social entrepreneurship, and the role of digital communication in North-South relations.
What is the central research question?
The research is guided by the question: "Can unequal global power relations be overcome by joint project work of people from the global North and South?"
Which scientific methods are applied?
The research employs a mixed-method design, primarily focusing on auto-ethnography as the main methodology, complemented by open interviews and corpus-based discourse analysis of email and messenger communications.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The main body examines the colonial continuity within development narratives, the practical dynamics within GlobalMatch tandems (such as punctuality and financial expectations), and the structural barriers to achieving true partnerships at "eye level."
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include Postcolonialism, Development Cooperation, GlobalMatch, Auto-ethnography, Power Relations, Othering, and Structural Inequality.
How does GlobalMatch attempt to integrate postcolonial theory into its practice?
GlobalMatch attempts to create "tandem-partnerships" designed for "encounters at eye level," aiming to dismantle the traditional donor-receiver dynamic by connecting individuals based on shared interests and project goals rather than charity.
What is the author's conclusion regarding "partnership at eye level"?
The author concludes that while a partnership at eye level is an important aim, it remains difficult to reach in practice because structural disparities—such as access to infrastructure, financial resources, and historical legacies—continue to shape and often reproduce imbalanced power relations.
- Quote paper
- Katharina Jung (Author), 2018, Development cooperation in the face of postcolonial studies, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/434979
