ESR 6 A political ecology approach in evaluating the development agenda: The cases of Ghana and Kenya
Early Stage Researcher: Valentine Nandako Masika
Research Directors: Prof. Dr. Zeynep Kadirbeyoğlu (Department of Political Science and International Relations, Boğaziçi University (BOUN), Turkey); Prof. Lisa Chauvet (Centre d’Economie de la Sorbonne, Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, University Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne (UP1), France)
Objectives:
The PhD project will examine the implications of existing growth-led paradigms in drafting the development agenda in two African states: Ghana and Kenya. The project will analyse how existing growth-led development paradigms are translated into practice in the form of development planning and projects. The PhD project will adopt a political ecology perspective incorporating resource allocation, power and justice in assessing the extent to which the development agenda of the selected countries offers an approach that not only focus on income growth but also on environmental goods and bads and on their distribution. This will also speak to potential tensions between economic growth and environmental sustainability among various SDGs. The student is expected to carry out fieldwork in both countries and examine a selection of development projects as well as carry out interviews with government officials and experts.
Expected Results:
Divergence between development agenda drafting and on-the-ground implementation is described with reference to environmental goods and bads and their distribution. Factors are identified that determine why environmental and social targets are ignored for the sake of income growth in some cases while they are observed in others.
Secondments:
The project involves a strong collaboration between the Political Science and International Relations Department of Boğaziçi University and the Centre d’Economie de la Sorbonne at UP1 and t and therefore includes mandatory research stays of the ESR in Paris for six months in total.
A six-month secondment for field research in Kenya and Ghana is planned and supervised by the SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Ghana.