Poster Abstracts for DSA Conference 2015: NB. The dedicated poster session will be held on Tuesday 8th September 2015 from 12.30 – 14.00 in Level 1 Fountain Canteen, University of Bath. Please do come and talk to the poster presenters about their research. Table of Contents: Mieke Berghmans: Thinking about transformation in NGOs. Is a complexity perspective 2
sufficient? N N Tarun Chakravorty: Revisiting ‘principal-‐agent-‐client’ theory and a new model for
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combatting corruption
Britta Matthes: From National to Plurinational: Rethinking the 21st Century South American 5
State Indigenous Struggles and ‘Accumulation by Dispossession’ in Bolivia Kate Pincock: Dance parties, nature walks, sleepovers and yoga: finding and co-‐creating
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uninhibited spaces for exploring sexual agency with schoolgirls in Tanzania Silvia Storchi: Financial Capability: Conceptualising and investigating its role and relevance for financial inclusion in Kenya
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Ben Tantua: Militancy in the Niger Delta region
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Dharendra Wardhana: Decentralisation and Distribution: A Multi-‐Dimensional Taxonomy of Indonesian Districts Sameen Zafar: Floods and their impact on poverty in Punjab
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Mieke Berghmans: Thinking about transformation in NGOs. Is a complexity perspective sufficient? Title of Poster Thinking about transformation in NGOs. Is a complexity perspective sufficient? Name of the poster author Mieke Berghmans Affiliations of author PhD student, Laboratory for Education and Society, KU Leuven (Catholic University Leuven), Belgium Abstract: Development INGOs are caught in a tension between two teloi which are substantive-‐ purposive legitimacy criteria for NGOs (Atack, 1999). They are caught between (1) the aim of “delivery of the product to the needy”, which we refer to as the telos of effectiveness, and (2) the aim of “shift[ing] power relations in favour of the less powerful” (Taylor & Soal, 2003, 1), which we hereafter refer to as the telos of transformation but which -‐ depending on the level at which these power shifts occur -‐ is also known as the telos of empowerment (Atack, 1999) or of emancipation (Freire, 1970). Over the last decades, the telos of effectiveness has been strongly stressed in NGOs, and this to the detriment of the second telos. This is, at least partly, a result of the explosion of funding at the end of the 80’s and its concurrent focus on accountability to donors (Edwards & Hulme, 1996). This evolution, which was accompanied by ideas and tools like logical frameworks and management for results, reinforced an identity of NGOs as effective organizations which autonomously, intentionally and linearly can deliver change. Over the last years however this modernist understanding of NGOs has been criticized. Inspired by complexity thinking, which “promotes a relational and processual style of thinking, stressing organizational patterns, networked relationships and historical context” (Bousquet & Curtis, 2011, 45), authors have demonstrated that social change is not linear but emergent. Moreover they have shown that networks rather than organizations contribute to social change (Ramalingam, 2013; Snowden, 2005; Eyben, 2006). As such they have relativized the role of NGOs as autonomous, intentional and linear deliverers of change. The question can be raised, however, whether this complexity perspective, which is founded on a relationalist social ontology, contributed to a rebalancing between the telos of effectiveness and the telos of transformation? In this poster we will first argue that the complexity perspective has not contributed to a rebalancing between the two teloi of effectiveness and transformation. We will explain that, due to the fact that the complexity perspective does not enable conceptualizations of power, politics, values and responsibility (Fenwick, 2009), this perspective still focuses strongly on purposefulness and leaves little room for the conceptualization of the telos of transformation. Second we will argue that, if we want to contribute to a rebalancing between the two teloi, we need to think out to the end the relationalist perspective to development. In this paper, we will take up this challenge. Drawing from relationalist development theorists (Eyben, 2006), practice theorists (Gueber & Gadinger, 2014; DeMars & Dijlzuil, 2015) but also from political theorists like Hannah Arendt, we will from a relationalist perspective conceptualize key notions like power, values, politics, development, responsibility and NGO. We will conclude by suggesting how these notions could contribute to a different practice and understanding of NGOs in which the telos of transformation is revalued.
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References Atack, I. (1999). Four criteria of development NGO legitimacy. World Development 27 (5), 855-‐864. Bueger, C. & Gadinger, F. (2014). International Practice Theory: New Perspectives. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. Bousquet, A. & Curtis, S. (2011). Complexity theory, systems thinking and international relations. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 24 (1), 43-‐62. Edwards, M. & Hulme, D. (Eds.). (1996), Beyond the Magic Bullet. NGO Performance and Accountability in the Post-‐Cold War World. West Hartford: Kumarian Press. Eyben, R. (2006). Relationships for Aid. London: Earthscan. Eyben, R. (2008). Power, mutual accountability and responsibility in the practice of international aid: a relational approach. IDS Working Paper 305. Fenwick, T. (2009). Responsibility, complexity Science and education: Dilemmas and uncertain responses. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 28(2), 101-‐118. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Herder & Herder. Ramalingam, B. (2013). Aid on the Edge of Chaos. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Snowden, D. (2005). Strategy in the context of uncertainty. Handbook of Business Strategy, 6 (1),47-‐51. Taylor, J. & Soal, S. (2003, March). Measurement in developmental practice. From the mundane to the transformational. Retrieved from http://www.intrac.org/data/files/resources/166/Measurement-‐in-‐Developmental-‐Practice-‐ From-‐the-‐mundane-‐to-‐the-‐transformational.pdf
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N N Tarun Chakravorty: Revisiting ‘principal-‐agent-‐client’ theory and a new model for combatting corruption Title of Poster Revisiting ‘principal-‐agent-‐client’ theory and a new model for combatting corruption Name of the poster author N N Tarun Chakravorty Affiliations of author Department of Economics University of Bath Abstract: In this poster a new definition of corruption has been proposed. The existing definitions of corruption in the literature such as ‘misuse of public office for private gains’ (Svensson, 2005: p. 20) confine this illegal activity only within those who hold public offices. The argument here is that this activity is termed as corruption because it reduces net welfare for the society increasing private gains. There are cases where activities carried out by individuals not holding public office also reduce public welfare. When a firm owner evades tax, he actually appropriates public money because the taxable portion of her profit is public money. I, therefore, argue that the appropriation of money in this case should be considered corruption as well. I propose this definition of corruption: ‘corruption is non-‐compliance of law by any individual for direct monetary gains, which reduces public welfare while the law is set by a state or an international organization statutorily approved by that state which the individual belongs to.’ Corruption is a governance issue and the causes of corruption have been explained as an agency problem in agency structure where principal assigns an agent setting some preferences with the expectation of certain outcomes. This agency relationship exists in both private and public sectors. In the existing literature on the ‘principal-‐agent-‐client’ theory the definition of principal in public sector case is neither clear nor logical. In this paper the term, principal has been re-‐defined. In doing that the chronological developments on the theory has been analytically discussed starting from Rose-‐Ackerman (1978). The central idea of my definition of principal is that who would be the principal in an agency structure of public sector depends on whether he or she acts for the interest of the people of the country whole-‐heartedly. For example, for the distribution of fertilizer from the state the local MP may be considered as the principal and the dealer the agent. Although the people of the country are the principal because the distribution of fertilizer by the state is a public good. Since the MP is their representative, he may be believed to act for the interest of people. But as soon as the MP deviates from the role of upholding the public interest with 100% devotion, is longer the principal. He may deviate from his role which people have voted for, by selecting a dealer from partisan consideration or by instructing the dealer to distribute fertilizer unfairly for some kind of gains. The remedy for corruption has also been explained in the agency structure in the literature. One of the key challenges in combatting corruption is to prevent collusion between the agent and client. A new model has been proposed to solve this problem of collusion. In order to monitor a government official, for example, a tax officer, a group of persons instead of one person has been proposed where the group would be formed by the people of conflicting interests.
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Britta Matthes: From National to Plurinational: Rethinking the 21st Century South American State Indigenous Struggles and ‘Accumulation by Dispossession’ in Bolivia Title of Poster From National to Plurinational: Rethinking the 21st Century South American State Indigenous Struggles and ‘Accumulation by Dispossession’ in Bolivia Name of the poster author Britta Matthes Affiliations of author University of Bath Abstract: My PhD research focuses on the transformation of the state in South America. Most studies of current political, economic and social transformations in the region emphasise either the significance of changes in the political regime, embeddedness in the world market, or new patterns of mobilisation that pose novel challenges to regimes/states. I argue that in order to understand the transformation of the region, we need to rethink the ‘state’ as a category. Most of the approaches mentioned above offer a misleading image of the state as a ‘thing’ (e.g. a tool or an instrument of government/capital) and thus (re-‐)produce fetishized and fetishizing analysis of ongoing transformations. Drawing on capital relations theories of the state (e.g. Holloway and Picciotto 1977; Clarke 1991), I propose to understand the state as the political form of social relation of capital. However, when wanting to make sense of the South American state, the notion of ‘coloniality’ is also key (e.g. Quijano 2006) which will be carefully integrated into my project. The starting point for this study of the state is not the state itself, but struggle, which is translated and integrated into the state form through diverse dynamics of power. My empirical sites are conflicts in Bolivia in which the first and only ‘Plurinational State’ in the world mediates indigenous peoples struggle within (and against) forms of accumulation ‘by dispossession’ (Harvey 2003).
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Kate Pincock: Dance parties, nature walks, sleepovers and yoga: finding and co-‐creating uninhibited spaces for exploring sexual agency with schoolgirls in Tanzania Title of Poster Dance parties, nature walks, sleepovers and yoga: finding and co-‐creating uninhibited spaces for exploring sexual agency with schoolgirls in Tanzania Name of the poster author Kate Pincock Affiliations of author University of Bath Abstract: Recent years have seen an intensifying scrutiny of young people’s sexuality within international development, particularly notable through the proliferation of efforts to address youth pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, FGC/M and gender-‐based violence. Drawing on a critical theoretical framework, my research seeks to understand girls’ experiences of sexual agency in relation to how their sexuality is constructed and constituted in the context of these development interventions. Between June 2014 and April 2015 I undertook fieldwork in Northern Tanzania, exploring these issues with girls aged between 13 and 18 years old to find out how they encounter and navigate such representations from the ‘changing world of their own experience’ (Driscoll 2013:293). Because available representations of teenage girls’ sexualities within development discourse so frequently exclude girls own accounts of how they experience the contradictions and dilemmas of ‘doing’ girl (Renold & Ringrose 2010), my central objective was to explore girls’ interactions with and experiences of these norms using innovative methods, centralising girls interests, experiences and voices. The poster presented here gives an overview of some of the methods I found useful in engaging with participants on this topic, why I chose to do the research in this way, and the challenges of doing so.
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Silvia Storchi: Financial Capability: Conceptualising and investigating its role and relevance for financial inclusion in Kenya Title of Poster Financial Capability: Conceptualising and investigating its role and relevance for financial inclusion in Kenya Name of the poster author Silvia Storchi Affiliations of author University of Bath Abstract: The growing focus on financial literacy and capability in developing countries is primarily linked to policy goals for financial inclusion. Financial inclusion is about increasing the set of financial service options available and the concept of financial capability seeks to capture the idea that their effective use will lead to improved wellbeing. However, the approach to financial capability has been based primarily in the etic models of rational choice and behavioural economics and studies on financial capability have so far adopted an ontological assumption that financial capability is a set of "correct" financial behaviours which can be defined and measured universally. This therefore fails to capture the potentially deeper meanings and values that poor people's financial practices represent. In this context both financial inclusion and financial capability require an evaluative framework for the exploration of how and to what degree the ways in which poor people engage with financial services can improve their wellbeing. This research therefore examines the potential of Sen's capability approach (CA) as such an evaluative framework and hence as a tool for the evaluation of financial inclusion policy. The CA framework argues that wellbeing must be evaluated in terms of people's valuable achievements, and policies should focus on what people's substantial freedoms are (their capabilities), rather than on the amount of resources or services that they have. Therefore, adopting the CA as an evaluative framework therefore suggests that increasing the availability of financial services is valuable only if the increased range of options allow people to pursue their wellbeing goals.
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Ben Tantua: Militancy in the Niger Delta region Title of Poster Militancy in the Niger Delta region Name of the poster author Ben Tantua Affiliations of author University of Bath Abstract: This poster explores the complex voices of militants, associated with the capture of oil resources in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The persistent violent conflict involving militant groups in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria is a major concern for many within the country and the international community. Understanding the conflict in the Niger Delta has triggered a wide range of discussions and debates among researchers, politicians and policy makers. However, these debates have overlooked the views of the militants, who are actively engaged in the conflict over resource governance in the region. Moreover the ideology of self-‐determination and resource control, which these militants use to legitimise their actions, seem to generate different meanings and labeling that tend to cloud understandings of the conflict in the region. I adopt the theoretical assumptions of the New Social Movement literature and the epistemological views of the Interpretivist Social Constructionist approach to explore (a) what features shaped the emergence of militancy and its diverse forms (b) how do militias make sense of their role as militants? (c) how does the role of militias impact on the politics of oil governance in the Niger Delta? I argue that militia actions that appear to challenge the legitimacy and authority of the Nigerian state to control oil resources, are embedded in complex webs involving formal and informal interactions of political elites and militia leaders. From analysis of this research, key dominant concepts such as Identity, opportunism and competition, emerged to give insight as to why and how militancy has become significant in the region.
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Dharendra Wardhana: Decentralisation and Distribution: A Multi-‐Dimensional Taxonomy of Indonesian Districts Title of poster Decentralisation and Distribution: A Multi-‐Dimensional Taxonomy of Indonesian Districts Name of the poster author Dharendra Wardhana Affiliations of author King’s College London Abstract: Indonesia has put in place a system of fiscal decentralisation to the district administrative level. However, most districts are still heavily dependent on the central government to fund their expenditures. A single formula currently determines allocations and fiscal gaps for every district. We develop a taxonomy of Indonesia’s districts using the World Bank’s INDO-‐ DAPOER dataset and a cluster analysis based on: (i) economic development; (ii) human development; (iii) the quality of governance; and (iv) local revenue capacity. We consider the current allocation of central resources and an alternative based on the taxonomy developed.
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Sameen Zafar: Floods and their impact on poverty in Punjab Title of Poster Floods and their impact on Poverty in Punjab Name of the poster author Sameen Zafar Affiliations of author University of Nottingham, United Kingdom Abstract: Natural disasters have plagued mankind since centuries. Climate change in the recent years has severely affected some countries. Pakistan is one such country which suffered from intensive flooding in 2010 when nearly one-‐fifth of the country was inundated by floodwaters (Oxfam, 2013). The number of individuals victimised by the 2010 flooding exceeded the combined total of individuals affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. At least 2,000 people lost their lives and almost 20 million people were affected by it, leaving them in a state of destitute poverty, without livelihoods and possessions. The women and children in particular were harshly affected with inadequate food, water and sanitation facilities. This study is an attempt to capture the state of multidimensional poverty before and after the floods in the Punjab province of Pakistan at the micro level by dissecting the regional implications of the disaster. This would help to generate important policy implications so that the government can focus on the problems requiring urgent attention. Poverty is multidimensional in the sense that it is much more than a lack of income. It also includes a lack of educational facilities, low standard of living such as inadequate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities, experiencing poor health and much more. The multidimensional poverty index (MPI) is calculated for 2008 and 2011 using three dimensions of health, education and living standard to construct a weighted index to capture the wellbeing of households (using the methodology of Alkire and Santos (2010)). A comparison is drawn between the two years to gauge the extent of deprivation after the floods. As an additional analysis, a comparison is made between the determinants of poverty for the two years to analyse which factors have affected poverty the most over this time period. The analysis is conducted at the household level and results are presented at the aggregate level for Punjab as well as for districts and towns within the province. Punjab is Pakistan's most populous province and contains nearly three-‐fifths of the nation's people (Farmer and Khan, 2010). However, despite receiving the major share of funds out of all the provinces, poverty enclaves still exist in Punjab. A significant proportion of the population in Punjab was affected by the floods, particularly that of southern Punjab. The results indicate that flooding has deteriorated the provision of services such as clean water and sanitation and has adversely affected children’s school attendance and nutritional status. Therefore, tremendous efforts need to be undertaken to deal with the impact of flooding. This natural disaster again recurred in Pakistan (Punjab) 2014. Further research is needed to analyse the long-‐term impact of flooding on human wellbeing and poverty, as well as on how to cope with flooding in the future (disaster risk reduction), particularly to protect the vulnerable groups such as women and children. Also, it is important to analyse how floods may affect the achievement of sustainable development goals as part of the future research agenda.
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