IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/prodev/v3y2003i2p159-178.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Enhancing pro-poor governance in Eastern India: participation, politics and action research

Author

Listed:
  • Glyn Williams

    (Department of Geography, King’s College London, UK, glyn.williams@kcl.ac.uk)

  • Manoj Srivastava

    (Development Studies Institute, London School of Economics, UK)

  • Stuart Corbridge

    (Department of Geography, London School of Economics, UK, University of Miami, USA)

  • René Véron

    (Department of Geography, Guelph University, Ontario, Canada)

Abstract

This paper uses the experience of a recent programme of action research in Eastern India to reflect on the use of participatory ideals within governance reform. In a situation where there are profound difficulties in local governance, it assesses the potential for participatory forms of stakeholder engagement to begin a process of reform. It criticizes views of reform put forward by both the World Bank and Robert Chambers, and argues instead that critical self-reflection and the construction of alliances among a variety of reform-minded actors are important first steps in building political capabilities to challenge structural blockages to pro-poor governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Glyn Williams & Manoj Srivastava & Stuart Corbridge & René Véron, 2003. "Enhancing pro-poor governance in Eastern India: participation, politics and action research," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 3(2), pages 159-178, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:prodev:v:3:y:2003:i:2:p:159-178
    DOI: 10.1191/1464993403ps059ra
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1191/1464993403ps059ra
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1191/1464993403ps059ra?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chambers, Robert, 1994. "Participatory rural appraisal (PRA): Analysis of experience," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 22(9), pages 1253-1268, September.
    2. Michael Hubbard, 2001. "Attacking Poverty-a strategic dilemma for the World Bank," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(3), pages 293-298.
    3. Grindle, Merilee S., 1997. "Divergent cultures? When public organizations perform well in developing countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 481-495, January.
    4. David Mosse, 1994. "Authority, Gender and Knowledge: Theoretical Reflections on the Practice of Participatory Rural Appraisal," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 25(3), pages 497-526, July.
    5. Chambers, Robert, 1994. "Participatory rural appraisal (PRA): Challenges, potentials and paradigm," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 22(10), pages 1437-1454, October.
    6. Robert Chambers, 2001. "The World Development Report: concepts, content and a Chapter 12," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(3), pages 299-306.
    7. Chambers, Robert, 1994. "The origins and practice of participatory rural appraisal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 22(7), pages 953-969, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Narayana, D., 2005. "Institutional change and its impact on the poor and excluded : the Indian decentralisation experience," ILO Working Papers 993769263402676, International Labour Organization.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michael J.G. Parnwell, 2003. "Consulting the poor in Thailand: enlightenment or delusion?," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 3(2), pages 99-112, April.
    2. Barrett, T. & Feola, G. & Krylova, V. & Khusnitdinova, M., 2017. "The application of Rapid Appraisal of Agricultural Innovation Systems (RAAIS) to agricultural adaptation to climate change in Kazakhstan: A critical evaluation," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 106-113.
    3. Orr, Alastair & Tsusaka, Takuji W. & Kee-Tui, Sabine & Msere, Harry, 2015. "What do we mean by 'women's crops'? Commercialisation, gender, and the power to name," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212600, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Ross, Heather M. & Pine, Kathleen H. & Curran, Sarah & Augusta, Dawn, 2022. "Pathway mapping as a tool to address police use of force in behavioral health crisis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    5. Chilombo, Andrew & Van Der Horst, Dan, 2021. "Livelihoods and coping strategies of local communities on previous customary land in limbo of commercial agricultural development: Lessons from the farm block program in Zambia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    6. Thompson, John, 1995. "Participatory approaches in government bureaucracies: Facilitating the process of institutional change," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(9), pages 1521-1554, September.
    7. Shane Cronin & Mike Petterson & Paul Taylor & Randall Biliki, 2004. "Maximising Multi-Stakeholder Participation in Government and Community Volcanic Hazard Management Programs; A Case Study from Savo, Solomon Islands," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 33(1), pages 105-136, September.
    8. Palash Kamruzzaman, 2020. "Exploring the Nexus Between Participation and Empowerment," Journal of Development Policy and Practice, , vol. 5(1), pages 32-53, January.
    9. Jinnat Ara & Dipanwita Sarkar & Jayanta Sarkar, 2021. "Like mother like daughter? Occupational mobility among children under asset transfer program in Bangladesh," QuBE Working Papers 061, QUT Business School.
    10. Namatama, Nathan, 2020. "An assessment of stakeholders’ participation in land use planning process of Luapula Province Planning Authority," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    11. Popular Gentle & Rik Thwaites & Digby Race & Kim Alexander, 2014. "Differential impacts of climate change on communities in the middle hills region of Nepal," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 74(2), pages 815-836, November.
    12. Thomas, David H. L. & Adams, William M., 1999. "Adapting to Dams: Agrarian Change Downstream of the Tiga Dam, Northern Nigeria," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 919-935, June.
    13. Bond, Richard & Hulme, David, 1999. "Process Approaches to Development: Theory and Sri Lankan Practice," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(8), pages 1339-1358, August.
    14. Jayachandran, Seema & Biradavolu, Monica & Cooper, Jan, 2023. "Using machine learning and qualitative interviews to design a five-question survey module for women’s agency," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    15. Jennifer Sowerwine & Megan Mucioki & Daniel Sarna-Wojcicki & Lisa Hillman, 2019. "Reframing food security by and for Native American communities: a case study among tribes in the Klamath River basin of Oregon and California," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(3), pages 579-607, June.
    16. García-Ponce, E. & Gómez-Macpherson, H. & Diallo, O. & Djibril, M. & Baba, C. & Porcel, O. & Mathieu, B. & Comas, J. & Mateos, L. & Connor, D.J., 2013. "Contribution of sorghum to productivity of small-holder irrigation schemes: On-farm research in the Senegal River Valley, Mauritania," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 72-82.
    17. Dipanwita De & Chandan Surabhi Das, 2021. "Measuring Livelihood Sustainability by PCA in Indian Sundarban," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(12), pages 18424-18442, December.
    18. Alix-Garcia, Jennifer M. & Sims, Katharine R.E. & Costica, Laura, 2021. "Better to be indirect? Testing the accuracy and cost-savings of indirect surveys," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    19. Gladwin, Christina H. & Peterson, Jennifer S. & Mwale, Abiud C., 2002. "The Quality of Science in Participatory Research: A Case Study from Eastern Zambia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 523-543, April.
    20. Loader, R. & Amartya, L., 1999. "Participatory Rural Appraisal: extending the research methods base," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 73-85, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:prodev:v:3:y:2003:i:2:p:159-178. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.