The power to reform : water and the poverty of democracy and rights in the era of "good" governance : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Massey University
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Date
2010
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Massey University
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Abstract
Since the early 1990s the achievement of ‘good governance’ has been the dominant
discourse and the determined path to social and economic development. This discourse and
its ensuing policy reform prescriptions promise that with the right alignment of actors and
the right governance institutions, capitalist economic growth, human rights, and democracy
will flourish. Indeed, in the discourse all three are regarded as complimentary and
necessary for sustainable economic and social development. Such promises make the
discourse very seductive and it has been embraced by international development agencies
and many NGOs, citizens and private sector actors.
But there is reason to suspect that below this veneer the dynamics of development may not
be as progressive as they appear - especially for the deepening of democracy and the
expansion of rights for the poor. Based on a year and half of ethnographic fieldwork on
governance reforms in the urban water sector in the south Indian state of Karnataka, this
thesis presents a critical challenge to the contemporary development paradigm of good
governance. The study focuses on two specific propositions that underlie current policies of
urban water governance. The first refers to a claim that good governance is both democratic
and pro-market. This proposition appears to embody an inherently undemocratic
assumption that in order for governance to be ‘good’ a democratic consensus would
necessarily, and essentially, have to favour capitalism as a mode of economic organisation
and the commercialisation and marketisation of basic services. The second proposition
refers to a claim that commercially oriented water services, whether private or public, are
good for poor and marginalised citizens and are compatible with the expansion and
realisation of human rights. Through the use of detailed critical ethnography these
propositions are examined as they intersect at three levels: policy, practice (process), and
outcome. In examining the connections and intersections of these three levels of reform I
argue that a number of contradictions and tensions exist within, and between what the
discourse promises, the everyday practices of how they are implemented, and in the
outcomes of such.
As the title suggests, this thesis is about the power to reform in the contemporary
development era of good governance. But it is also about the power to resist such reforms
and the contestations and struggles over the meanings and material realms of development
that take place at the site of governance reforms. The ambition of these contestations and
struggles is the hope for manifesting more just and humane development in the present and
within possible futures.
Description
No online version available. Please consult print copy held in the Library.
Keywords
Democracy, Karnataka, India, Good governance, Human rights, Poverty, Water services, Development studies