REPRESENTING DEVELOPMENT

The abstract concept of development that was applied to define the preceding construct can be given theoretical viability through the representation of the factors, considerations and influences that comprise the process(es) of change. However, as development is a contested and wide-ranging concept, no single authoritative representation exists and it is necessary to develop a model as the basis for subsequent comparison and analysis with the other variables within this study. As development is a social construct, this reification is conducted through the examination of additional research questions developed for this stage of the study; namely,

• Why is development conducted?

• Who is involved in the conduct of development?

• How is development conducted?

These questions support the creation of a model by breaking the construct of development down into components that can then be reified and examined within context. This is shown at Figure 3.1, which relates the key parameters of the development construct through the main constituent elements and characteristics. In this regard, the representation of development is found through the description of the circumstances within which it occurs, the purposes for which it is

conducted, and the various actors and stakeholders who intend to satisfy these conditions through a range of approaches, methods, considerations and forms of action/intervention to achieve desired results. This then establishes the

foundation for realising the nature of the interaction between each element as a model to represent development itself.

Figure 3.1: The Key Parameters of the Development Construct

Circumstances

The development process is conducted in order to meet the requirements of a wide variety of circumstances; each of which requires different combinations of actors, approaches and techniques. Although each circumstance is unique (Bond, 2002, p. 32) they cannot be considered in isolation as a range of situations may interact – thereby increasing the complexity of the development task. The

uniqueness of each development circumstance, however, is a function of the base DEVELOPMENT Why is development conducted? Who is involved in the conduct of development? How is development conducted?

What are the results of development? Circumstances Actors / Stakeholders Purposes Methods Approaches Considerations Forms Achievements / Effects Intentions

capabilities and potentialities of each developing state or society, and the wider situational context within which the development will occur. As shown at Table 3.1, the base for development is founded upon the state or society’s geographic, demographic, economic and socio-political characteristics and capabilities as these determine both the resources, and the ability to utilise them, that will be available for development. This base capacity for development is also modified by the actual situational context in which it will occur as disasters and conflict, the relative robustness and viability of a state and its social systems, and the degree of its integration into the larger world system affect the manner in which a developing state or society can use its base capabilities and the degree of

assistance that it may require.

These circumstances provide the causal effects that establish the purpose of the development process. Three broad purposes have been identified through the representation of the relief-rehabilitation-development (RRD) continuum. Although this continuum has been presented as a methodology for conflict management (Cilliers, 2006), and has been criticised as both having limitations in its practical application (Macrae, 2001, p. 155) and portraying an inappropriate linearity within the development process (Elliot, 2003, p. 261), it does have a wider utility within the overall concept of development itself. This occurs as relief and development can help to maintain equilibrium within an

underdeveloped population (Duffield, 2006, p. 17) and the continuum can incorporate a wider variety of contexts than just the effects of conflict. In this regard, the purposes established by the RRD continuum can be seen to include the conduct of relief activities that provide succour and safeguard lives in the face of natural or man-made disaster, the conduct of rehabilitation to overcome the effects of those disasters or other instances of failed or fragile development14

14 _{Duffield (2002, p. 1050) notes the requirement to reconstruct failed and collapsed states as a}

step to continue development. This would also encompass activities within failing and fragile states (to some extent) and would complement other rehabilitative activities.

, or the enactment of advancements within the host state or society through a wider range of development activities. The continuum, therefore, relates the actual purpose of development endeavours within the bounds of the wider

construct and it also influences the manner and form in which various actors and stakeholders may become involved.

Table 3.1: Circumstances of Development 15

PURPOSE

Development

Expand and mobilise base capacities to take advantage of positive situational

contexts and achieve desired development outcomes

Rehabilitation

Address root causes of conflict or lack of systemic viability

Build capacity to integrate into wider development frameworks

Relief

Establish a safe and secure environment

Situational Contexts

Modifying factors that determine the ability of the developing state or society to apply its base capacities

Disaster / Conflict (Civil War / Complex Emergency)

•Destruction of physical and social infrastructure

•Development in reverse – negative effects for base capacities

•Increased rates of poverty, hunger and disease

•Administrative, social, economic and political decay and collapse

•Displacement of population

•Increased threat to vulnerable groups

•Diversion of budget from long-term development to more immediate relief tasks – opportunity cost of use of resources

•Increased competition for resources

•Creation of aid dependencies

Systemic Viability

•Post-colonial / post-communist states which may lack viable public institutions

•Failed, failing or fragile states with collapsed or weakening state and social systems

•Increased risk of conflict

•Increasingly unable to provide for basic requirements of society

Integration into World System

•Residual effects of conflict or vulnerability in neighbouring states or societies

•Degrees of marginalisation or exclusion

•Degree of technology transfer and inclusion

•Effect of debt

•Political destabilisation through globalisation

Base Capacities

The characteristics of the developing state or society and their ability to both make best use of them and absorb the risks

posed by the various situational contexts

Geographic

•Natural capital

•Access to resources (including quality and quantity thereof)

•Access to development partners, markets, etc

•Degree of environmental sustainability

Demographic

•Human capital (health, education, nutrition, etc)

•Population dynamics (relationships and composition)

•Rural, peri-urban and urban composition and relations

Economic

•Business capital (machinery, technology)

•Physical infrastructure

•Service provision

Socio-Political

•Political will for development

•Distributional issues / social equity / strength of elites

•Public institutional capital (judicial, government services, etc) / strength of public institutions

•Perceptions of security and scale of military spending