NGOs, elite capture and community-driven development: perspectives in rural Mozambique

Arnall, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6218-5926, Thomas, D. S. G., Twyman, C. and Liverman, D. (2013) NGOs, elite capture and community-driven development: perspectives in rural Mozambique. Journal of Modern African Studies, 51 (2). pp. 305-330. ISSN 1469-7777 doi: 10.1017/S0022278X13000037

Abstract/Summary

This article examines the problems of elite capture in community driven development (CDD). Drawing on two case studies of non-governmental organisation (NGO) intervention in rural Mozambique, the authors consider two important variables – 1) the diverse and complex contributions of local elites to CDD in different locations, and 2) the roles that non-elites play in monitoring and controlling leader activities – to argue that donors should be cautious about automatically assuming the prevalence of malevolent patrimonialism and its ill-effects in their projects. This is because the ‘checks and balances’ on elite behaviour that exist within locally-defined and historically-rooted forms of community-based governance are likely to be more effective than those introduced by the external intervener.