The Politics of Development: Perspectives from an IGO

Abstract

Priorities and politics, insights and actual involvement are not easy bedfellows or easily reconciled. This is particularly true for an IGO whose agenda can become blurred whilst trying to maintain the ""balancing act' to adequately satisfy all the stakeholders that the IGO has a duty to oblige. For a regional IGO, the number of regional players that constitute that very IGO magnify the problems encountered in equal measure. IGOs are meant to be non-political but actually their very existence is to some extent political in origin, and thus they do not operate in a totally politically-free environment. This paper will explore the consequences of these problems, and illustrate through examples. It is, however, not meant to be an entirely negative exploration but an attempt to promote understanding of the boundaries within which an IGO has to work. In doing this, perhaps the key players involved in development will come to realise further the necessity of acceptable compromise. IGOs can no longer be constrained by unrealistic demands often imposed by donors, or likewise, by governmental bureaucracy and vested interest. The paper will examine what constitutes acceptable compromise in the quest to strengthen the effectiveness of the work undertaken by IGOs - work that must not compromise on principles.