The seduction and significance of participation for development interventions

This paper argues that participatory development is not possible within existing institutional arrangements for development interventions. The author examines the relationship between participatory development and international development interventions. The author concludes that, despite development agencies increasingly adopting the rhetoric of participatory development over the last three decades, the presence of mechanisms such as the logical framework analysis, project cycles and international experts signify the inherent tension between participation and the development process.