Governance, Conflict and Development
Currently, there is a great debate, or to say enormous pressure, on developing countries to adopt “good policies” or “good institution” to take-off the path of economic growth. To achieve this, there is wide consensus that broadly three things have to be set right through ‘good’ governance, negotiating the conflicts for inclusive development. In this context, the book took the case studies of South Asian countries like India, Nepal and Sri Lanka that characterizes diverse set of political tensions, instability, conflicts contributing to hamper economic development due to political instability and weak democratic institutions.
That the book aptly does touches the board theme centred on governance, conflict and development but the case studies collected reflects upon the internal and external scenario mired with social, economic and political institutions evolution in different countries. However, the editors may have extended the introduction chapter to elaborate the theoretical discourse putting together three most predominant words (as book titled too) in social science literatures in contemporary times. For instance, later chapters (part II) do contain theoretical perspectives on development and governance but perspective on conflict is missing to make case studies representatives for other chapters thereafter for different countries to establish a nuanced linkage. Indeed, it is not possible to adequately deal with enormous diversity within different countries of South Asia with respect to governance, development and conflict. Nonetheless, the book does make a modest attempt to bring in rich and in-depth analyses of case studies of different countries in chapters independently under broad themes to problematize South Asian realities in achieving sustain economic development, good governance and socio-political stability.
The book is arranged in four parts and ten chapters (including introductory chapter) under the broad themes to cluster case studies of different countries. Part I deals with in-depth theoretical perspectives on development and governance to highlight Indian case studies in particular. The chapter 2 by Ravinder Kaur and Vinod K. Jairath problematizes the development discourses popularized in terms of ‘participation’, ‘empowerment’, ‘community’ from the lens of ‘efficiency’ & ‘agencies’ based participation (p.24) points of view. While the authors brings in inclusive ‘citizenship’ debates to question the structural reasons caused by inequality of access or resources or unequal balance of power and control; then instead what is falsely premised reason attributed to the lack of so called ‘sufficient expertize, knowledge and participation’ (p. 27). The chapter 3 by Dilip M. Menon provocatively challenges the idea of visualizing of modernity as ‘state-led development’ in post-Independence India; and to argue that ‘governance was not for the people, by the people or of the people, it was about ruling the people’ (p. 45). Menon elucidates his arguments by bringing in the problematic visualization efforts by the state like- fetish of science and technology in terms dams, steel, reactors; national institutions like museum, art gallery, movies and even a radical theatres etc. That indeed reproduces ‘to create an audience for state engineered modernity and development’ based on the concept of the people as masses that has to be disciplined objects. Instead, what he concludes by bring back the people at the centre stage as an active participants rather than making them passive through ‘an exercise in management by the state and its experts’ and to replace/reclaim the idea of development by (not ‘for’) the people.
Part II of the book highlights the case studies, through Sri Lanka and Nepal, of development and conflict at national level. Chapter 4 by Siri Hettige unpacks the interconnected problems of development, governance in relation to conflicts in Sri Lanka. Hettige historicizes pre and post 1970s in terms of state centred development vis-à-vis opening up the economy; then simultaneously, concentration of power with an introduction of executive presidential system of governance vis-à-vis abuse of authority by state bureaucracy, corruption, political interference with freedom of expression in the media, weakening of civil society and judiciary. Along with already existed ethnic conflict that ended only in 2009 with the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which in turn aggravate the issues of governance, and conflicts with ever-increasing concentration of power at the centre. Chapter 5 by David N. Gellner contrast the experiences of governance system and development primarily between pre and post 1990 in Nepal in terms of monarchical rules, called Panchayats vis-à-vis democratic rules with neoliberal policies. Gellner draws various cases like village panchayats (or todays village development councils), forest user groups which is continuation from pre to post 1990 period, the people’s war launched by Maoists after 1996, and Backward Society Education as an NGO to illustrates how new institutions emerging by introducing people to a new ways of acting to organize the life of Nepalese. Gellner refers it as ‘ritual of democracy’ to unpack development, modern institutions and traditional values in Nepalese context.
Part III of the book draws the case of Governance, Conflict and development at the grassroots through the case studies from Nepal, India and Sri Lanka. Chapter 6 by Natalie Hicks analyses the negotiation between the two parallel governance system established by state and Maoist after 1996 in Nepal with the case studies of education in Dhankuta District, agriculture services in Morang District and the fight against crime in Jhapa Districts wherein the people learned to negotiate from both sides. Chapter 7 by B. B Mohanty draws the case of three panchayats in Kendrapara district of Odhisa to explain that how local governance reproducing inequalities at a local level despite well intentioned inclusion of marginalized caste, women by 73rd constitutional amendment in India. Chapter 8 by Eva Gerharz brings back to images of governance in Sri Lankan context where in dual governance between the state and LTTE, that led the people to negotiate, through the shifting notion of locality concept in Jaffna area, which is one of the concentrations of ethnic tension vis-à-vis the state.
Part IV of the book deals with ideas and (foreign) interests in governance and development in conflict-ridden societies. Chapter 9 by Laxman Acharya unpack the relationship between Government of Nepal and Donor agencies wherein although foreign aid/donors six decades efforts did not achieve desired goals. Nonetheless, in contemporary times, particularly after Maoist insurgency, it is widely observed that social inclusion and inclusive development, good governance addressed to target groups of the people otherwise excluded in the development process from the state. However, Acharya questions the donor assumption of Nepal as a post-conflict country and shifting towards post-conflict reconstruction paradigm is problematic. Chapter 10 by Dileepa Witharana draws the attention towards shrinking ‘local policy space’ in lieu of multilateral agencies like Worth Trade Organization (WTO) and International Financial Institutions (IFIs) through the case studies of Sri Lankan like electricity and water reforms, general agreements on trade in services (GATS) negatively affects small-and-medium enterprises in the economy.
Indeed, the book brings in enriched debate in governance, development and conflict from developing country perspectives wherein it makes strong linkage with poor economic performance, political instability, and weak democratic institution. The book at best narrates how things are churning as well as evolving in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal in contemporary times.
Sohan Prasad Sha, Research Scholar, Jawarharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.