Latest publications by Andrea Cornwall
This book tells the story of Development Studies in practice over the last fifty years through th... more This book tells the story of Development Studies in practice over the last fifty years through the work of one remarkable individual, Robert Chambers. His work has taken him from being a colonial officer in Kenya through training and managing large rural development projects to a fundamental critique of top-down development and the championing of participatory approaches. The contributors eloquently demonstrate how he has been at the centre of major shifts in development thinking and practice over this period, popularising terms that are now at the centre of the development lexicon such as vulnerability, multi-dimensional poverty, sustainable livelihoods and 'farmer first'.
Robert Chambers played a major role in the massive growth in participatory approaches to development, and particularly the application of participatory methods in development research and appraisal. This has led to fundamental challenges to development practice, ranging from approaches to monitoring and evaluation to institutional learning and professional training. There is probably no-one who has had more influence on approaches to development in the past decades. Revolutionizing Development offers a unique overview of these contributions in thirty-two concise chapters from authors who have been intimately involved as collaborators, critics and colleagues of Robert Chambers.
Community Development Journal , 2008
The world over, public institutions appear to be responding to the calls voiced by activists, dev... more The world over, public institutions appear to be responding to the calls voiced by activists, development practitioners and progressive thinkers for greater public involvement in making the decisions that matter and holding governments to account for following through on their commitments. Yet what exactly 'participation' means to these different actors can vary enormously. This article explores some of the meanings and practices associated with participation, in theory and in practice. It suggests that it is vital to pay closer attention to who is participating, in what and for whose benefit. Vagueness about what participation means may have helped the promise of public involvement gain purchase, but it may be time for more of what Cohen and Uphoff term 'clarity through specificity' if the call for more participation is to realize its democratizing promise.
Antropologia Publicca, 2019
In this article, I explore the role of anthropology and anthropologists in unsettling orthodoxies... more In this article, I explore the role of anthropology and anthropologists in unsettling orthodoxies and provoking disquiet with taken for granted ways of thinking and doing. Set against the backdrop of the debates about engaged anthropology, my interest is in exploring an approach to anthropology that takes anthropological practice seriously and with it the role of the anthropologist as activist and agent of change. I argue that the work of the anthropologist is not just to do fieldwork and produce texts, but that "engagement" has a more interactive dimension. By acting anthropologically, I suggest, anthropologists can be activists in ways and in settings that are distinct from the kinds of engagement envisaged in contemporary debates on "engaged", "activist" and "public" anthropology, as well as the modes of practice characteristic of "applied" anthropology. I draw on fragments of auto-ethnography to explore what the idea of acting anthropologically might offer within as well as outside the academy.
Is it even possible to think about a decolonised development studies? Isn't the very idea unthink... more Is it even possible to think about a decolonised development studies? Isn't the very idea unthinkable, the juxtaposition of those two words an oxymoron? This chapter examines the experience of trying to teach an introductory development studies module from a decolonising perspective.
Books by Andrea Cornwall
Introduction: Negotiating Empowerment
This introduction draws out some of the dimensions and dilemmas around women's empowerment that a... more This introduction draws out some of the dimensions and dilemmas around women's empowerment that are highlighted in the chapters in the book: the choices, the negotiations, the narratives and above all, the context of women's lived experience. In doing so, we show that empowerment is a complex process that requires more than the quick and easy solutions often offered by development agencies.
Much of the significant change happening in women's lives takes place outside of the range of these conventional interventions. In conclusion, we suggest that for development agencies to really support women's empowerment requires greater engagement with changing structures rather than accommodating women within the inequitable existing order, and a much deeper understanding of what makes change happen in their lives.
Much recent writing on and by men suggests that male prerogatives are being sustained and lent au... more Much recent writing on and by men suggests that male prerogatives are being sustained and lent authority by the new discipline of 'men's studies'. Dislocating Masculinity is an original and ambitious anthropological collection which raises important new questions about the study of men and masculinities. In a sustained cross-cultural enquiry, local experiences of 'hegemonic masculinity' are deconstructed to reveal the complexities of gendering and gendered difference. The familiar oppositions are analysed-male/female, man/woman and masculinity/ femininity-as are the other apparent certainties-that 'a man is a man' everywhere and that everywhere this means the same thing.
People thought we were wasting time talking about sex and pleasure, when maternal mortality is so... more People thought we were wasting time talking about sex and pleasure, when maternal mortality is so high … but I was convinced that if this delicate taboo thing -sexual pleasure -could be negotiated by women, then almost anything can be negotiated … and that idea gave me multiple orgasms! (Dorothy Akenova, INCRESE, Nigeria, cited in The Pleasure Project 2008: 52) Images of women as victims are rampant in gender and development. This is particularly the case in discussions of sexuality, where the world is portrayed as so fraught with dangers it seems almost impossible to imagine women enjoying themselves. This focus on the negative can be paralysing -both in terms of ease with one's own body, and in terms of mobilizing around women's wants and desires. Such narratives dovetail with religious right agendas to protect women's chastity. Yet, at the same time, sexual pleasure is an obsession in women's magazines, pornography and a whole variety of other media. Contemporary pressures -fuelled by these media, as well as the pharmaceutical industry and the market more broadly -set up new imperatives as to what counts as good sex and how this should be performed. These suggest that only particular kinds of people are eligible for sexual pleasure (like young, able-bodied, HIV-negative) and that particular kinds of sex are superior (like heterosexual, Viagra-style sex where men get and maintain an erection easily, vaginal intercourse, g-spot
Gender and Development by Andrea Cornwall
An apparent paradox stalks the rise of women’s and girls’ empowerment. The instrumental case for ... more An apparent paradox stalks the rise of women’s and girls’ empowerment. The instrumental case for “investing in women” has been persuasively and glossily made. Yet the “business case” is primarily underpinned by feminist research framed by materialist concerns. For them, gender equality and women’s empowerment are framed by a concern with persistent inequality rather than “unleashing potential”, and with structural transformation rather than simply the incorporation of women into segmented labour markets that are deeply inflected by inequitable norms and practices. Paying close attention to the neoliberal appellation of women as the subject of empowerment, I situate some of the contradictions of the current conjuncture and explore the role the academy might play in destabilising the gender myths and conflations that characterise what I call empowerment lite.
The language of ‘gender equality’ and ‘women’s empowerment’ was mobilised by feminists in the 198... more The language of ‘gender equality’ and ‘women’s empowerment’ was mobilised by feminists in the 1980s and 1990s as a way of getting women’s rights onto the international development agenda. Their efforts can be declared a resounding success. The international development industry has fully embraced these terms. From international NGOs to donor governments to multilateral agencies the language of gender equality and women’s empowerment is a pervasive presence and takes pride of place among their major development priorities. And yet, this article argues, the fact that these terms have been eviscerated of conceptual and political bite compromises their use as the primary frame through which to demand rights and justice. Critically examining the trajectories of these terms in development, the article suggests that if the promise of the post-2015 agenda is to deliver on gender justice, new frames are needed, which can connect with and contribute to a broader movement for global justice.
The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA), celebrated by feminist activists as a tri... more The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA), celebrated by feminist activists as a triumph for women's rights, is 20 years old. The world that it once described has changed profoundly in some respects, and yet in others remains surprisingly similar. This IDS Bulletin reflects on those changes and continuities, tracing the trajectories of the Beijing conference in different policy arenas, national settings and domains of practice.
Articles chart the development of policies and practice worldwide, drawing out both obstacles to progress and gains for women's rights. They explore three major areas: creating more opportunities for women to earn a living and exercise economic autonomy; enhancing women's political representation and enabling women to have more of a say in the decisions that affect their lives; and affirming women's rights to have control over their own bodies and a sexuality of their own choosing. Many articles concern the long, slow process of turning the commitments of Beijing into real gains for women's rights and the implications for turning subsequent commitments into action. Contributors identify a number of pathways forward to reanimate some of the radical potential of gender equality and women's empowerment now.
As the SDGs shape future development policy and funding, women's rights organisations and transnational networks have an important role to play in monitoring implementation, holding states to account and mobilising consumer and political pressure on non-state actors. They can contribute directly to the realisation of women's rights and empowerment by challenging limiting gender stereotypes and social norms by raising consciousness and collective action.
There is increasing recognition of the role played by women's and feminist movements in driving c... more There is increasing recognition of the role played by women's and feminist movements in driving change in favour of greater gender equality and justice. The evidence for this emerges not only in the myriad stories of change documented by women's rights activists and feminist researchers in which mobilisation plays a vital role (see, for example, Alpizar et al. 2010; Nazneen and Sultan 2014). It is also lies in the conclusions reached through analysis of large-scale data sets that set out to isolate and identify key variables influencing changes in laws and policies in favour of women's rights across a vast diversity of country contexts. Thus Laurel Weldon and Mala Htun's (2013) analysis of policies on violence against women in 70 countries over a 30--year time period and Htun and Weldon's (2014) research on progressive policy change on women's economic and social rights offers the statistical evidence to confirm conclusions long recognised by those engaged in women's rights activism at the grassroots: that the principal pathway to positive change for women is activism, which plays a more important role than a host of other factors including national wealth. In this paper, I explore how women's rights activists have secured laws, policies and programmes to improve women's lives at home and at work and secure for them a life free of violence and abuse and access to decent work and a regular, independent income. Most of the material I work with here arises from qualitative and participatory action research carried out by members of the Pathways research programme, a multi--country, multi--disciplinary collective of feminist researchers and activists who have been working together since 2006 to understand how positive change happens in women's lives. 1 Complementing Htun and Weldon's findings from large--scale quantitative analysis with qualitative stories of change in particular settings, I draw in this paper on qualitative and participatory research on three issues: domestic violence; domestic work; and state anti--poverty programmes aimed at securing reliable, regular income for women living in poverty and their families. Legal and policy reform process are contingent and conjunctural, with dynamics, histories and institutional ramifications that may be highly particular. The paper is therefore structured as a series of comparisons, contrasting Brazilian experience with examples from Ghana, Bolivia, Chile and Egypt. My aim is to identify insights that can help inform efforts to enhance state accountability to women so as to achieve the promise of the Beijing Platform for Action.
Even the most devoted believers in the neoliberal paradigm will have had their convictions shaken... more Even the most devoted believers in the neoliberal paradigm will have had their convictions shaken in recent times, as the world's markets have played havoc with their faith. For those who have long questioned the purported benefits of neoliberal economic policies and highlighted their injurious consequences, it comes as little surprise that this 'grab-bag of ideas based on the fundamentalist notion that markets are selfcorrecting, allocate resources efficiently and serve the public interest well', as Stiglitz (2008) well describes neoliberalism, is in freefall. The focus of this IDS Bulletin is therefore particularly apposite at a time when much-cherished axioms are being re-inspected and where new possibilities and directions are so badly needed.
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Latest publications by Andrea Cornwall
Robert Chambers played a major role in the massive growth in participatory approaches to development, and particularly the application of participatory methods in development research and appraisal. This has led to fundamental challenges to development practice, ranging from approaches to monitoring and evaluation to institutional learning and professional training. There is probably no-one who has had more influence on approaches to development in the past decades. Revolutionizing Development offers a unique overview of these contributions in thirty-two concise chapters from authors who have been intimately involved as collaborators, critics and colleagues of Robert Chambers.
Books by Andrea Cornwall
Much of the significant change happening in women's lives takes place outside of the range of these conventional interventions. In conclusion, we suggest that for development agencies to really support women's empowerment requires greater engagement with changing structures rather than accommodating women within the inequitable existing order, and a much deeper understanding of what makes change happen in their lives.
Gender and Development by Andrea Cornwall
Articles chart the development of policies and practice worldwide, drawing out both obstacles to progress and gains for women's rights. They explore three major areas: creating more opportunities for women to earn a living and exercise economic autonomy; enhancing women's political representation and enabling women to have more of a say in the decisions that affect their lives; and affirming women's rights to have control over their own bodies and a sexuality of their own choosing. Many articles concern the long, slow process of turning the commitments of Beijing into real gains for women's rights and the implications for turning subsequent commitments into action. Contributors identify a number of pathways forward to reanimate some of the radical potential of gender equality and women's empowerment now.
As the SDGs shape future development policy and funding, women's rights organisations and transnational networks have an important role to play in monitoring implementation, holding states to account and mobilising consumer and political pressure on non-state actors. They can contribute directly to the realisation of women's rights and empowerment by challenging limiting gender stereotypes and social norms by raising consciousness and collective action.