The ambiguity of participation: a qualified defence of participatory development Export

@article{citeulike:1806351, abstract = {This paper examines some of the critiques addressed to participatory development by critics such as Cooke and Kothari. It argues that criticisms of participation's theoretical coherence and of its lapse into a routinised praxis largely arise from an unavoidable ambiguity that is inherent in the concept of participation, this being the means/end ambiguity. Participation must function as a means because any development project must produce some outputs (therefore participation is seen as a means to achieve such outputs), but it must also function as an end inasmuch as empowerment is viewed as a necessary outcome. This ambiguity becomes contradictory when emphasis is laid on participation as a means at the expense of participation as an end. The article proposes ways of re-emphasising the element of empowerment so that participation may function as an emancipatory strategy.}, author = {Parfitt, Trevor}, citeulike-article-id = {1806351}, journal = {Thrid World Quarterly}, keywords = {critiques, empowerment, participation}, number = {3}, pages = {537--555}, posted-at = {2007-10-22 14:01:58}, priority = {4}, title = {The ambiguity of participation: a qualified defence of participatory development}, volume = {25}, year = {2004} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:1806351 L3 - citeulike-article-id:1806351 N2 - This paper examines some of the critiques addressed to participatory development by critics such as Cooke and Kothari. It argues that criticisms of participation's theoretical coherence and of its lapse into a routinised praxis largely arise from an unavoidable ambiguity that is inherent in the concept of participation, this being the means/end ambiguity. Participation must function as a means because any development project must produce some outputs (therefore participation is seen as a means to achieve such outputs), but it must also function as an end inasmuch as empowerment is viewed as a necessary outcome. This ambiguity becomes contradictory when emphasis is laid on participation as a means at the expense of participation as an end. The article proposes ways of re-emphasising the element of empowerment so that participation may function as an emancipatory strategy. IS - 3 JF - Thrid World Quarterly EP - 555 TI - The ambiguity of participation: a qualified defence of participatory development VL - 25 SP - 537 KW - critiques KW - empowerment KW - participation AU - Parfitt, Trevor PY - 2004/// ER -