Paradoxes of participation : a critique of participatory approaches to development

This paper questions the popularity of participatory approaches to development and suggests that these should be subject to greater critical analysis. It discusses some of the prominent discourses of participation in particular the assumptions made about contributions to efficiency and empowerment, and those asserting the power of participatory techniques, while analysing some of the arising paradoxes in more detail. The author draws on social theory concerning the recursive relationship between agency and structure to illustrate how one might further a more complex understanding of such issues. Two key categories of concepts are examined - the nature and role of institutions and models of individual action. The paper concludes by identifying the questions such an analysis raises about the relationship between community, social capital and the state, as well as identifies a number of areas that require further analysis.