Search for Connection.pdf (727.58 kB)
Development and the search for connection
The stated purpose of development is often characterised by the motivation to ‘help’ – that is, to intervene in the lives of others in supportive ways. This paper argues that this perspective has obscured how development activities are also animated by its twin desire to ‘connect’. While this holds significance for development more broadly, it becomes particularly evident in a mode of assistance that has gained prominence more recently. These are privately funded, small-scale projects led by individual founders, here described as ‘citizen aid’. Based on ethnographic research among citizen aid initiatives in Cambodia, the paper argues that the relevance of ‘connecting’ has been insufficiently recognised so far. It explores different aspects of what participants mean by ‘making a connection’, including face-to-face contact, direct experience of aid activities, and their tangible efficacy. It also finds that establishing interpersonal relationships across national, ethnic and cultural differences, while potentially challenging, is a key motivation for those involved. Finally, the paper argues that acknowledging the desire to connect questions notions of the ‘distant stranger’ as the archetypical humanitarian object, highlighting the wish for familiarity and closeness as potentially just as important for motivating and directing assistance to others.
Funding
Alternative Actors in Development? Understanding the Role of 'Do-It-Yourself Aid'; G1103; LEVERHULME TRUST; RF-2013-535
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Third World QuarterlyISSN
0143-6597Publisher
Taylor & FrancisExternal DOI
Issue
10Volume
40Page range
1816-1831Department affiliated with
- Anthropology Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2019-09-11First Open Access (FOA) Date
2021-02-22First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2019-09-06Usage metrics
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