Knowledge, Power, and International Development: Beyond Critique

Knowledge and power are important in international development. Michel Foucault, a theorist of power, conceptualised knowledge and power as being in a dynamic and reciprocal relationship (Foucault, 1980 p52). This thesis explores the relationship between knowledge and power, focusing on my published work on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) as part of the international development agenda. From an anthropological perspective, CRVS documents such as birth and death registrations represent a mutual relationship between nation-states and citizens, conferring rights and obligations (Gray and Bedford, 2016; Simpson, 2018). Nation-states use birth and death data from CRVS systems to quantify and classify life (Hanna et al., 2013). These data and analyses are also critical for international development strategies such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (World Bank, 2017). However, despite their national and international importance, CRVS systems have been neglected by the international development community over many decades, resulting in a ‘scandal of invisibility’ (Abouzahr et al., 2007; Setel et al., 2007). As a result, the births and deaths of many people in developing countries are never officially recognised, rendering them invisible in international development policy and practice (World Bank WHO, 2014). This neglect has particularly affected global health as an international development agenda. However, between 2010 and 2018, my published work - including the publication of new global and regional strategies for CRVS - contributed to a significant shift in global development policy towards CRVS after these decades of neglect. This thesis focuses on how development documents are established and negotiated through cross-agency international development partnerships, offering fresh ethnographic insights into how development actors seek to use power and knowledge in the social processes of development. Going beyond the customary anthropological critique of international development (Venkatesan and Yarrow, 2012), this thesis considers the contemporary relevance of Foucault’s theories about power and knowledge to international development policy and practice.

Grantor dc:publisher

Oxford Brookes University

Year dc:date

2021

Author dc:creator

• Schmider, Anna

Contributors dc:contributor

• Macclancy, Jeremy
• Diggins, Jennifer

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Language dc:language

en

DOI dc:identifier

https://doi.org/10.24384/ahj4-x981

OAI identifier oai:identifier

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