Context-Sensitive Development: How International NGOs Operate in Myanmar

by Anthony Ware

Overview

Development is a difficult undertaking in any environment, but much more so in places such as Myanmar with its “perfect storm” of extreme poverty, international sanctions, and political repression and human rights violations with concomitant conflicts within development organizations over norms and policies.

Context-Sensitive Development examines how to effect successful development interventions in Myanmar. Anthony Ware points out that while practitioners have questioned universal economic prescriptions for development, they have not been as consistent in questioning the normative foundations behind their work. Ware does not argue for a facile moral relativism; he sees Myanmar as an egregious violator of human rights, but he does call for “context sensitivity” to help organizations adapt their values to better meet the needs of client populations.

Through his years of practice in the field and extensive series of interviews, the author brings into focus key issues of perception and practice that are intrinsic to the development enterprise. Although the focus is on Myanmar as a quintessential “difficult” case, Ware shows how his conclusions can be used elsewhere. His book represents a major contribution to both development theory and practice, vital for both the classroom and the development organization in situ.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781565495265
Publisher:	Kumarian Press, Inc.
Publication date:	10/01/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Anthony Ware is Lecturer, School of International and Political Studies, Deakin University, Australia.

Table of Contents

Tables and Figures vii

Abbreviations ix

Acknowledgments xi

Preface xiii

Prologue: Burma or Myanmar? A Note on Names and Political Orientation xv

Part 1 The Problem and Theory 1

1 Myanmar and Context-Sensitivity in Development 3

2 Context-Sensitive Development Theory 29

Part 2 Myanmar: A Historically Informed Analysis of Context 69

3 Burmese Days: Antecedents of the Sociopolitical Context 71

4 Myanmar Times: Contemporary Economic and Sociopolitical Context 103

Part 3 Context-Sensitivity in INGO Development Practice 143

5 Doing Context-Sensitive Development in Communities 145

6 Context-Sensitivity in Stakeholder Relations 167

7 Dancing With the Devil but Not Holding Hands: Negotiating the Restricted Humanitarian Space 199

8 Conclusions and Recommendations 225

Afterword 237

Glossary of Myanmar Terms 239

List of Interview Participants 241

References 245

Index 271