After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Eastern European countries were said to be playing catch up with the West, and in the field of development cooperation, they were classified as 'new donors.' This book aims to problematize this distinction between old and new development donors, applying an East–West dimension to global Orientalism discourse. The book uses a novel double postcolonial perspective, examining North–South relations and East–West relations simultaneously, and problematizing these distinctions. In particular, the book deploys an empirical analysis of a 'new' Eastern European donor (Slovakia), compared with an 'old' donor (Austria), in order to explore questions around hierarchization, depoliticization and the legitimization of development. This book's innovative approach to the East–West dimension of global Orientalism will be of interest to researchers in postcolonial studies, Eastern European studies, and critical development studies.
Author(s): Tomáš Profant
Series: Routledge Explorations In Development Studies
Publisher: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 211
Tags: Europe, Eastern: Economic Conditions: 1989-, Europe, Eastern: Foreign relations: 1989-, Business & Economics: Industries: General
Cover......Page 1
Half Title......Page 4
Series Page......Page 5
Title Page......Page 6
Copyright Page......Page 7
Dedication......Page 8
Table of Contents......Page 10
List of figures......Page 11
Acknowledgments......Page 12
List of acronyms......Page 13
1 Introduction: On the postcolonial crossroads......Page 16
The comparison and the analysis......Page 19
Why Slovakia and Austria?......Page 25
The analyzed actors......Page 28
An overview of the book......Page 32
Bibliography......Page 34
The origins of development apparatuses: development induced from the outside......Page 40
Weak commitment to aid......Page 43
The regional focus and the national interest: a possible ranking based on the recipients......Page 48
The non-governmental sphere: too close for comfort......Page 51
Motivations for development cooperation: altruism, egoism, and professional interest......Page 54
Conclusion......Page 58
Notes......Page 59
3 Hierarchization of “us” over “them” and its disruptions......Page 65
The continuity with the colonial hierarchy in development discourse and its effects......Page 66
Logocentrism, the general law of development and their disruptions......Page 73
Power in partnership: Austroprojekt’s Plan of Operation......Page 85
Disrupting the development hierarchy through deliberate positivism......Page 88
Fighting “their” negative representations and stereotypes......Page 89
An example of deliberate positivism: an interview with a respondent from CARE......Page 98
Slovaks hierarchize more often and in a sharper way than Austrians......Page 100
Deliberate positivism and its limits......Page 104
Notes......Page 105
4 (De)Politicization of unequal power relations in development discourse......Page 113
The political, politics, police, politicization, and depoliticization......Page 114
Spatial depoliticization......Page 116
Depoliticization through technological solutions, omissions of agents, an explicit consensus invocation, and temporal depoliticzation......Page 130
Forms of politicization......Page 138
The benign government and the potential for politicization through the good governance and policy coherence discourses......Page 139
Cultural depoliticization and politicization in archipolitics through education......Page 142
Depoliticization through politicization of unequal gender relationships......Page 148
Weak and strong politicization......Page 150
Conclusion......Page 157
Notes......Page 158
Bibliography......Page 159
5 (De)Legitimization of development......Page 168
The usual understanding of development and developmentas progress......Page 171
Other constructions of legitimation in the analyzed texts......Page 174
The critical perspective: development as partnership, “real” development, Westernization, and sustainable development......Page 178
Explaining the discursive practice......Page 184
Conclusion......Page 189
Notes......Page 190
Bibliography......Page 191
The analysis and the compar......Page 195
A tentative attempt at explaining some of the results......Page 199
On the representativeness of the results and suggestions for further research......Page 204
Notes......Page 206
Bibliography......Page 207
Index......Page 208
