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- Convenors:
-
Paul Gilbert
(University of Sussex)
Jessica Sklair (QMUL)
Emma Mawdsley (University of Cambridge)
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- Chairs:
-
Olivia Taylor
(University of Sussex)
Brendan Whitty (University of St Andrews)
- Discussant:
-
Jo-Anna Russon
- Format:
- Paper panel
- Stream:
- Methods - research, participation and practice
- Location:
- 8W 1.33, 8West Building
- Sessions:
- Thursday 26 June, -, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Short Abstract
This panel invites contributions from early career and established scholars to explore new methods – from complex ‘follow the money’ approaches, to experimental or creative forms like fictionalization – in response to the growing role of powerful private sector actors in ‘Aidland’.
Description
Research into the global development industry (‘Aidland’) has traditionally been dominated by a focus on particular organisations (e.g., NGOs, Bretton Woods organisations); and people (aidworkers, policy makers, etc.). The 21st Century has seen a dramatic increase in the role played by private, for-profit contractors in designing and implementing development projects (Roberts 2014; Sundberg 2014; Whitty et al. 2024). These firms include specialist development consultancies, climate change advisors (Keele 2019), education policy consultants (Ball 2009), security contractors (Nagaraj 2015) and multinational engineering conglomerates (Taylor and Gilbert, forthcoming). A second trend has been the growing focus on attracting private finance into ‘Development’, including through novel financialised tools and initiatives (e.g. Ebola bonds). These trends create opportunities, but more often challenges, for researchers: questions around ‘collaboration’; problems of (physical and information) access; negotiation around confidentiality and NDAs; and the need for particular forms of expertise (e.g. financial). Such challenges are not all new in development studies, but are intensified by the increasing role played by for-profit firms, alongside development finance institutions (Devex 2019), philanthropic foundations (Sklair and Gilbert 2022), and even asset managers like BlackRock (Gabor 2019). These challenges are further intensified by gendered and racialized precarious career pathways necessitating ‘patchwork’ research engagement (Günel et al. 2020). This panel invites contributions from early career and established scholars alike, to explore new methods – from complex ‘follow the money’ approaches (Hughes-McLure 2022), to experimental or creative forms like fictionalization – in response to the growing role of powerful private sector actors in ‘Aidland’.
Accepted papers
Session 1 Thursday 26 June, 2025, -Paper short abstract
I discuss the use of the Right to Information Act to unpack the PPP model of a prominent corporate-funded transnational education intervention – the Teach for India programme, operating in under-resourced and under-served public schools across eight cities in the country.
Paper long abstract
The developmental thrust of the Indian state post-liberalisation of the economy has shifted considerably over the past four decades (Gupta & Sivaramakrishnan, 2011; Sharma & Gupta 2006). Increasingly, private actors and corporate organisations are being called upon to direct reforms through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in sectors such as education, health and urban governance (Subramanian, 2022; Ball, 2016; Ghertner, 2011; Banerjee-Guha, 2009). In this paper, I discuss the challenges of tracing the functioning of a prominent corporate supported transnational education intervention – the Teach for India (TFI) programme that operates in under-resourced and under-served public schools across eight cities in the country (Subramanian, 2019). Through the use of the Right to Information Act, a significant legislation that allows Indian citizens to access information on institutions and organisations under public authority, I piece together the ambiguous legalities and accountabilities of private sector driven reforms in public education.
The first part of the discussion interrogates my position and experience of filing applications and engaging with the state bureaucracy to access documents and correspondence on the TFI programme that is not available in the public domain. While private interventions such as TFI are lauded for their philanthropic vision, there is little concern for what these engagements mean for the subjects of the reform – the children of marginalised and working-class families’ studying in the under-resourced public-school system. I explore the dilemmas of piecing together the multiple tiers of policy discourses and their contradicting meanings to comprehend the politics of PPP-driven reforms in practice.
Paper short abstract
This paper examines the emergence and political economy of a private industry for customised socio-economic data in India. Moving away from statist conceptions of statistics, it highlights the role of non-state actors in the production and use of quantitative knowledge for development policy.
Paper long abstract
The statistical system in India, created as a tool of colonial governance, was subsequently refashioned and became an integral element of planning in the post-colonial era (Menon 2022). In this context, the production of statistical knowledge by the state was seen as a necessary public infrastructure. The emergence of a neoliberal political economy and transformations in development ideology, entailed a shift in this infrastructure. The widespread popularity of Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) as an empirical tool of quantitative social science in the last two decades, facilitated the emergence of an alternative machinery to produce the customised data required for such evaluations (Reddy 2012). An industry of private survey firms now exists in India, which is engaged by development actors to produced tailored data for RCTs and non-RCT surveys. These customised data collection exercises are primarily funded by philanthropic institutions seeking to create “social impact” through “evidence-based interventions”. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Delhi, this paper examines the origins and political economy of this industry for customised development data in India. Through interviews with elite actors that comprise this industry, it analyses how privately produced data has become an input into public policy, and what this alternative system for quantitative knowledge can tell us about the ideological underpinnings of India’s current development trajectory. In doing so, this paper seeks to advance literature in anthropology and development studies on the social and material foundations of elite knowledge and the intermeshing roles of state, international and private actors in contemporary development practice.
Paper short abstract
This paper examines the role of business power in the transformation of EU development policy, using the Global Gateway initiative as a case study of the broader drive towards global infrastructure investment.
Paper long abstract
This paper examines the role of business power in the transformation of EU development policy, using the Global Gateway initiative as a case study of the broader drive towards global infrastructure investment.
The Global Gateway represents the latest phase in a shift towards a financialized and business-centered EU development policy. This strategy exemplifies a broader transformation in global development policies that has been occurring over the past decade aimed at stimulated the rising centrality of business actors as global development agents.
We argue that to examine Global Gateway, we need to focus on the role played by European businesses and how they are building a working relationship with EU institutions to implement the Global Gateway. The paper looks into two flagships projects : the Lobito Corridor (Angola) and the Dakar Bus Rapid Transit Network (Senegal).
Paper short abstract
Building on the direct experience of the author, the article describes the features and dynamics of contractors in development actions of funding institutions.
Paper long abstract
The article aims at contributing to the recent debate about the role of consultancies in international development. Building on the author's direct observation conducted upon more than seven years of professional activity, this paper proposes an analysis of the actors, tools and dynamics of this development arena. An analysis of the literature shows this segment of development cooperation, which intervenes mainly on global and national scales, has been so far scarcely studied. After an overview of main funding schemes and services requested, the contribution provides an analysis of the vast ecosystem of large and medium-sized consulting firms, research centers, and specialized boutique firms identifying some typologies and patterns. Contr'actors' are competing/partnering in call for tenders for technical assistance procured by development donors (international organizations, banks, national agencies and climate funds inter alia) to increase their market share and defend their position. Attention is paid to describe these organizational and operational strategies and labour related dynamics. The article concludes with a reflection about the spatial impacts of these actions on the territories of target “beneficiaries", thus proposing further points for debate. The hypothesis is that by implementing these projects, for profit contr’actors’ become territorializing agents of the socio-economic and spatial reproduction of the development model proposed by these funding institutions. By defining new territorialities, and reshaping power relations between countries, they become a syntagmatic actor (to quote Raffestin), not only of international development, but also of the geopolitics of the world system.
Paper short abstract
This study explores how a state-owned enterprise in Houhai Village, China, extends state capitalism into local development, blending state control with market-driven imperatives and reshaping the power and politics within community.
Paper long abstract
Globally, private sector actors - particularly businesses - are increasingly recognised as the driving forces behind development. However, this study shifts the focus to local state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China. In the Chinese context, SOEs are not merely economic entities; they function as political instruments, extending state power into market-driven development while integrating characteristics of both the public and private sectors. This study examines the case of Houhai Village, a rapidly developing coastal tourist destination, to explore how a municipal SOE, established in 2023, exerts control over local development. It investigates how state capitalism, operating through SOEs, reshapes local power structures and developmental trajectories. As an extension of the local government, this SOE enjoys privileged access to operational licenses and resources, fundamentally altering local political and economic dynamics. At the same time, performance evaluations and financial imperatives necessitate adherence to market-driven logics, creating tensions between state control and commercial objectives. Drawing on an 11-month ethnographic study - including four months of participatory action research within the SOE - this research provides new insights into how state capitalism works in a micro context. By embedding itself in governance under the guise of development, the SOE not only restructures local economies but also redefines community agency, revealing the intricate interplay between state power and market forces in shaping contemporary development.
Paper short abstract
Elite philanthropy in El Salvador addresses security through youth-focused initiatives, reinforcing wealth defense and market dominance. While framed as social solutions, these practices sustain inequality, enabling business coexistence with changing political regimes and limiting structural change.
Paper long abstract
How does elite philanthropy shape the security landscape in postwar El Salvador? This paper examines the interventions and discourses of Salvadoran Family Business Groups (FBGs) over the last three decades, highlighting their relationship with wealth accumulation/defense, social inequality, and crime prevention initiatives. It argues that elite philanthropy, often framed as a solution to societal challenges like crime and violence, must be critically analyzed as a mechanism for maintaining and defending wealth amidst shifting economic and political dynamics.
Using critical discourse analysis, the study focuses on paradigmatic FBG practices, including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability initiatives. Drawing on a rich dataset of over 100 public statements from foundations linked to FBGs (2010–2024), triangulated with institutional reports and 15 field interviews with key stakeholders, the research uncovers the limits of elite-driven security interventions. While philanthropic initiatives may partially achieve programmatic goals, they fail to tackle the structural inequalities that underpin violence and insecurity.
The findings reveal that philanthropic practices are instrumental in strengthening monopolistic/monopsonistic positions within value chains, shaping closed networks of skilled labor, and enhancing international positioning. Moreover, by targeting young populations, elite philanthropy redefines social change under a profit-driven, individualistic vision, solidifying self-regulation and facilitating business coexistence with democratic and autocratic regimes. Ultimately, the study concludes that these practices reinforce material inequalities, illustrating the boundaries of market-based solutions in addressing socio-affective issues and the crucial role of elite philanthropy in postwar security discourses and practices.