The Problem with Solutions

Development Failures in Bangladesh and the Interests They Obscure

Bibliographic Data

ID3775337
AuthorsKimberley Anh Thomas (0000-0002-9600-385X, Temple University, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume110
Issue5
Pages1631-1651
Publication date2020-09-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnnals of the American Association of Geographers (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2469-4452 • E-ISSN: 2469-4460
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/24694452.2019.1707641
OpenAlexW3006168135
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited85

Long described as the “largest poorest” country, Bangladesh has been a prime target for massive infusions of foreign aid for decades. Through historical and ethnographic investigation, I document how flood control and agricultural intensification projects underwritten by foreign institutions exacerbate vulnerability to water crises in Bangladesh. These ostensibly pro-poor water governance and economic development programs engender cycles of crop loss, groundwater and soil salinization, reduced fisheries, and impeded navigation that erode agrarian livelihoods, thereby reproducing the conditions and rationale for continued flows of aid dollars into the country. Shifting attention away from depoliticized problems and solutions, I develop the concept of the interest-shed as a broadly applicable method for intervening in cycles of failure by examining the interests that they serve. This framework can also be used in the planning process by enabling differently situated groups to evaluate how proposed schemes include, ignore, or prioritize their interests

Agrarian society · Agriculture · Annexation · Corporate governance · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental planning · Geography · Livelihood · Natural resource economics · Political science · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Hydropower, Displacement, Environmental Impact · Law · Water Governance and Infrastructure · Finance

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