Brokers and Translators in Development: a focus on civil society

Full course description

This course focuses on the changing role of civil society organizations (CSOs), particularly NGOs, in contemporary development processes. It examines the contested role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in development and democratization by considering processes of brokerage and translation and the challenges and opportunities experienced by these organizations when dealing with state institutions, donors, corporations, other CSOs, transnational social movements and ‘communities’. Thereby, the course aims to critically examine and analyze the potent myths –e.g. they are independent, participatory, value-driven and non-profit– surrounding these organizations. This is done in two ways. First by showing that the ethnographic method is valuable in improving our understanding of NGOs and their relationships with other development actors, while also making clear that CSOs operate in dynamic, highly globalized contexts. Second, through a skills exercise, Project Design and Project Proposal Writing, whereby students have to write a project proposal for a development project.
The course is organized in a theoretical track and a practical track. In this way, the critical abilities of students are developed and sharpened, while at the same time they gain ‘hands on’ experience with the intricacies of ‘doing development’, confronting them with the dilemmas of challenging development contexts and making difficult choices.