“Development”: Projects,Power,and a Poststructuralist Perspective

The postdevelopment school has criticized development projects for their inherent power relations and their authoritarian implications. However, since the 1980s a transformation in development discourse can be observed that includes an emphasis on participation and civil society organizations. Through the analysis of several development projects, the article pursues the question of whether this transformation can also be observed on the level of projects—and on the level of inherent power relations. From a poststructuralist perspective, it argues that “development” functions as an empty signifier that can be filled with almost any content but constrains its form.