Regionalism, Governance and the ADB: A Foucauldian Perspective

Abstract

Discourse analysis is a theoretical perspective primarily concerned with the ideas, beliefs, symbols, images, and categorizations that give meaning to social life. It is likewise concerned with how these meaning systems are produced and reproduced, how they guide action and behaviour, and who are the credible agents of knowledge. Power relations produce a hierarchy of discourses, some more dominant than others. In the field of development policy, multilateral institutions like the Asian Development Bank are purveyors of a dominant discourse on governance which has been conceptualized as economic- managerialism. This sets the tone for governance practices among its client governments. Despite this, there remains the possibility within ADB itself to reinterpret ideas and provide alternative meanings. Two subregional programs, the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) are illustrative examples of a patently economic managerialist approach to regional governance with possibilities for discursive shifts.

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