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From ad hoc to durable? Development cooperation and institutional bricolage in the cotton sector in Benin

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posted on 2023-06-10, 00:27 authored by Alvaro Gomes Moreira
This thesis is about the history of development encounters in the cotton sector in Benin. It presents a perspective that is centred on the long durée of the host context instead of the short-lived and specific experiences of each cotton project. I substantiate this change of perspective by addressing the following question: how has the cotton sector in Benin come to incorporate the institutional arrangements of development cooperation projects into enduring institutions? This thesis contends that development projects, although temporary and specific, are inserted into a historical continuum that has regularised development cooperation practices over time, and that is perpetuated by both implementers and hosts. Thus, while a project in isolation appears to be unable to change the wider structure and practices, successive processes of institutional bricolage with project components may. In the first three chapters, I describe the learning journey that led me to my research question and outline its relevance to contemporary debates on development. I go on to detail the conceptual framework and research methods. In the third chapter, I define the boundaries of my research, situating it in the history of Benin’s cotton sector since independence in 1960 until 2018. I identify the successive waves of development assistance projects taking place over this period. In chapters four to seven, I examine how development cooperation projects have shaped the structure and practices both of subsequent projects and of the cotton sector itself. The conclusion discusses and reviews my findings in light of my research question. It appears that institutional bricolage with projects’ institutional arrangements is a process shaped by power relations in which early experiences have particular weight. This research shows that the way projects work depends on their place in the historical trajectory of development cooperation in the host context. It thus contributes to our understanding of how projects work in a certain way and in a particular moment in time.

History

File Version

  • Published version

Pages

249.0

Department affiliated with

  • Institute of Development Studies Theses

Qualification level

  • doctoral

Qualification name

  • phd

Language

  • eng

Institution

University of Sussex

Full text available

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2021-07-22

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