Depoliticization, instrumentalization and legitimacy of Czech development cooperation: A case of imposed altruism?

Abstract

This paper draws on James Ferguson’s concept of ‘anti-politics machine’ and Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of illusio to explore the nature of the international developmentcooperation programmes financed by the Czech government. It argues that its character as an ‘anti-politics machine’ turns development into a highly technical issue and dismissesessential political questions of global equity and policy coherence from the public debate.Moreover, the actors in the field of development cooperation are held in an illusio: they arerequired to appear as altruistic, which obscures their particular interests. This instrumentalization of development aid contributes to further isolation of the Czechdevelopment constituency and raises fundamental questions for the democratic legitimacy of development cooperation.

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