Governance and the Depoliticisation of Development

Wil Hout · Richard Robison

Nov 2008 · Routledge

About this ebook

This book is about the way ‘governance’ has become the new orthodoxy of development, following earlier failed attempts at building working market economies through policy reform in developing countries.

Considering how its proponents define ‘good governance’, the contributors to this volume assess why programmes of governance building in developing countries have proven to be no less problematic than the previous agendas of market reform.

Governance and the Depoliticisation of Development challenges ideas that deeper political and social problems of development may be addressed by institutional or governance fixes. It examines the principles and prescriptions of ‘good’ governance as part of larger conflicts over power and its distribution.

The volume provides:

• a series of case studies from Latin America, Middle East and Asia
• a link to current theorising on neoliberalism and the post-Washington Consensus
• a focus on governance at the global and national levels from a comparative perspective

The collection will be essential reading for researchers and scholars of international political economy, governance studies and political science.

About the author

Wil Hout is Associate Professor in World Development at The Institute for Social Studies (ISS), The Netherlands.

Richard Robison is Emeritus Professor, Asia Research Centre and School of Politics and International Studies, Murdoch University, Australia.