5- Dancing Around the Same Spot? Land Reform and NGOs in Zimbabwe – ! e Case of SOS Children’s Villages
African Sociological Review,
Vol. 13 No. 2 (2009): African Sociological Review
Abstract
This paper discusses the rural-based operations of an international NGO in Mashonaland Central province, Zimbabwe. The aim is to highlight the contingent variation of NGO practices within deftned limits. It does this through ‘thick description’ of the NGO of focus, the SOS Children’s Village, and compares its ‘handling‘ of the transforming countryside with the re- sponse of two other NGOs. It concludes by suggesting some conceptual points in understanding organizational dispositions of NGOs.
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- Bernstein H. 2005. ‘Rural land and land conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa’ in Moyo S and P Yeros (eds). 2005. Reclaiming the Land: The Resurgence of Rural Movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America. London: ZED Books.
- Bond P and M Manyanya. 2003.Zimbabwe’s Plunge: Exhausted Nationalism, Neoliberalism and the Search for Social Justice. Harare: Weaver Press.
- Brinkerhoff D and A Goldsmith. 1992. ‘Promoting the sustainability of development institutions: a framework for strategy’. World Development. 20(3).
- Carroll T. 1992. Intermediary NGOs: The Supporting Link in Grassroots Development. West Hartford: Kumarian Press.
- Crewe E and E Harrison. 1998. Whose Development?: An Ethnography of Aid. London: Zed Books.
- Eade D. 2003. ‘Preface’ in Eade D (ed). 2003. Development Methods and Approaches: Critical Reftections. Oxford: Oxfam GB.
- Edwards M and D Hulme. 1996. ‘Beyond the magic bullet? Lessons and conclusions’ in Edwards M and D Hulme (eds). 1996. Beyond the Magic Bullet: NGO Performance and Accountability in the Post-Cold War World. Connecticut: Kumarian Press.
- Freeman L. 2005. ‘Contradictory constructions of the crisis in Zimbabwe’. Carleton University. www.arts.yorku.ca/african_liberation/conferencepapers
- Ghimire K (ed). 2001. Whose Land?: Civil Society Perspectives on Land Reform and Rural Poverty Reduction. Rome: Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty/UNRISD. www.landcoalition.org/docs
- Hammar A and B Raftopoulos. 2003. ‘Zimbabwe’s unfinished business: rethinking land, state and nation’ in Hammar A, Raftopoulos B and S Jensen (eds). 2003. Zimbabwe’s Unfinished Business: Rethinking Land, State and Nation in the Context of Crisis. Harare: Weaver Press.
- Hammar A, Raftopoulos B and S Jensen (eds). 2003. Zimbabwe’s Unfinished Business: Rethinking Land, State and Nation in the Context of Crisis. Harare: Weaver Press.
- Helliker K. 2005. ‘Review Essay of Moyo S and Yeros P (eds). 2005. Reclaiming the Land: The Resurgence of Rural Movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Zed Books. London. 2005’. African Sociological Review. 9(2).
- Helliker, K. 2007. ‘A Sociological Analysis of Intermediary Non-Governmental Organisations and Land .
- Reform in Contemporary Zimbabwe’. Unpublished PhD thesis, Department of Sociology, Rhodes University.
- Kanji N, Braga C and W Mitullah. 2002. Promoting Land Rights in Africa: How Do NGOs Make a Difference? London: IIED.
- Manji F and C O’Coill. 2002. ‘The missionary position: NGOs and development in Africa’. International Affairs. 78(3).
- Monga C. 1996. The Anthropology of Anger: Civil Society and Democracy in Africa. Boulder: Rienner Publishers.
- Moore D. 2003.‘Zimbabwe’s triple crisis: primitive accumulation, nation-state formation and democratization in the age of neo-liberal globalisation’. African Studies Quarterly. 7(2 & 3).
- Moore D. 2004. ‘Marxism and Marxist intellectuals in schizophrenic Zimbabwe: how many rights for Zimbabwe’s Left? A comment’. Historical Materialism. 12(4).
- Morris-Suzuki T. 2000. ‘For and against NGOs: the politics of the lived world’. New Left Review. 2.
- Moyo S. 2001. ‘The land occupation movement and democratisation in Zimbabwe: contradictions of neoliberalism’. Millennium: Journal of International Studies. 30(2).
- Moyo S, Helliker K and T Murisa (eds). 2008. Contested Terrain: Land Reform and Civil Society in Contemporary Zimbabwe. Pietermaritzburg: SS Publishing.
- Moyo S and P Yeros. 2005. ‘Land occupations and land reform in Zimbabwe: towards the national democratic revolution’ in Moyo S and P Yeros (eds). 2005. Reclaiming the Land: The Resurgence of Rural Movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America. London: ZED Books.
- NANGO. 2002. ‘Report on the Proceedings of the Commonwealth Foundation and Zimbabwe Civil Society Consultative Workshop, 27 May 2002’. Harare: National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations and Commonwealth Foundation.
- Power G, Maury M and S Maury. 2003. ‘Operationalising bottom-up learning in international NGOs: barriers and alternatives’ in Eade D (ed). 2003. Development Methods and Approaches: Critical Ref!ections. Oxford: Oxfam GB.
- Raftopoulos B. 2005. ‘The Zimbabwean crisis and the challenges for the Left’. Public Lecture Delivered at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. 23 June 2005 Raftopoulos B and I Phimister. 2004. ‘Zimbabwe now: the political economy of crisis and coercion’. Historical Materialism. 12(4).
- Ranger T. 2004. ‘Nationalist historiography, patriotic history and the history of the nation: the struggle over the past in Zimbabwe’. Journal of Southern African Studies. 30(2).
- Rowlands J. 2003. ‘Beyond the comfort zone: some issues, questions, and challenges in thinking about development approaches and methods’ in Eade D (ed). 2003. Development Methods and Approaches: Critical Ref!ections. Oxford: Oxfam GB.
- Sachikonye L. 2002. ‘Whither Zimbabwe? Crisis and democratisation’. Review of African Political Economy. 29(91).
- Uphoff N. 1996. ‘Why NGOs are not a third sector’ in Edwards M and D Hulme (eds).1996. Beyond the Magic Bullet: NGO Performance and Accountability in the Post-Cold War World. Connecticut: Kumarian Press.
- USAID. 2002. Foreign Aid in the National Interest. Washington.
- Vakil A. 1997. ‘Confronting the classification problem: toward a taxonomy of NGOs’. World Development. 25(12).
- Yeros P. 2002. ‘Zimbabwe and the dilemmas of the Left’. Historical Materialism. 10(2).
References
Bernstein H. 2005. ‘Rural land and land conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa’ in Moyo S and P Yeros (eds). 2005. Reclaiming the Land: The Resurgence of Rural Movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America. London: ZED Books.
Bond P and M Manyanya. 2003.Zimbabwe’s Plunge: Exhausted Nationalism, Neoliberalism and the Search for Social Justice. Harare: Weaver Press.
Brinkerhoff D and A Goldsmith. 1992. ‘Promoting the sustainability of development institutions: a framework for strategy’. World Development. 20(3).
Carroll T. 1992. Intermediary NGOs: The Supporting Link in Grassroots Development. West Hartford: Kumarian Press.
Crewe E and E Harrison. 1998. Whose Development?: An Ethnography of Aid. London: Zed Books.
Eade D. 2003. ‘Preface’ in Eade D (ed). 2003. Development Methods and Approaches: Critical Reftections. Oxford: Oxfam GB.
Edwards M and D Hulme. 1996. ‘Beyond the magic bullet? Lessons and conclusions’ in Edwards M and D Hulme (eds). 1996. Beyond the Magic Bullet: NGO Performance and Accountability in the Post-Cold War World. Connecticut: Kumarian Press.
Freeman L. 2005. ‘Contradictory constructions of the crisis in Zimbabwe’. Carleton University. www.arts.yorku.ca/african_liberation/conferencepapers
Ghimire K (ed). 2001. Whose Land?: Civil Society Perspectives on Land Reform and Rural Poverty Reduction. Rome: Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty/UNRISD. www.landcoalition.org/docs
Hammar A and B Raftopoulos. 2003. ‘Zimbabwe’s unfinished business: rethinking land, state and nation’ in Hammar A, Raftopoulos B and S Jensen (eds). 2003. Zimbabwe’s Unfinished Business: Rethinking Land, State and Nation in the Context of Crisis. Harare: Weaver Press.
Hammar A, Raftopoulos B and S Jensen (eds). 2003. Zimbabwe’s Unfinished Business: Rethinking Land, State and Nation in the Context of Crisis. Harare: Weaver Press.
Helliker K. 2005. ‘Review Essay of Moyo S and Yeros P (eds). 2005. Reclaiming the Land: The Resurgence of Rural Movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Zed Books. London. 2005’. African Sociological Review. 9(2).
Helliker, K. 2007. ‘A Sociological Analysis of Intermediary Non-Governmental Organisations and Land .
Reform in Contemporary Zimbabwe’. Unpublished PhD thesis, Department of Sociology, Rhodes University.
Kanji N, Braga C and W Mitullah. 2002. Promoting Land Rights in Africa: How Do NGOs Make a Difference? London: IIED.
Manji F and C O’Coill. 2002. ‘The missionary position: NGOs and development in Africa’. International Affairs. 78(3).
Monga C. 1996. The Anthropology of Anger: Civil Society and Democracy in Africa. Boulder: Rienner Publishers.
Moore D. 2003.‘Zimbabwe’s triple crisis: primitive accumulation, nation-state formation and democratization in the age of neo-liberal globalisation’. African Studies Quarterly. 7(2 & 3).
Moore D. 2004. ‘Marxism and Marxist intellectuals in schizophrenic Zimbabwe: how many rights for Zimbabwe’s Left? A comment’. Historical Materialism. 12(4).
Morris-Suzuki T. 2000. ‘For and against NGOs: the politics of the lived world’. New Left Review. 2.
Moyo S. 2001. ‘The land occupation movement and democratisation in Zimbabwe: contradictions of neoliberalism’. Millennium: Journal of International Studies. 30(2).
Moyo S, Helliker K and T Murisa (eds). 2008. Contested Terrain: Land Reform and Civil Society in Contemporary Zimbabwe. Pietermaritzburg: SS Publishing.
Moyo S and P Yeros. 2005. ‘Land occupations and land reform in Zimbabwe: towards the national democratic revolution’ in Moyo S and P Yeros (eds). 2005. Reclaiming the Land: The Resurgence of Rural Movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America. London: ZED Books.
NANGO. 2002. ‘Report on the Proceedings of the Commonwealth Foundation and Zimbabwe Civil Society Consultative Workshop, 27 May 2002’. Harare: National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations and Commonwealth Foundation.
Power G, Maury M and S Maury. 2003. ‘Operationalising bottom-up learning in international NGOs: barriers and alternatives’ in Eade D (ed). 2003. Development Methods and Approaches: Critical Ref!ections. Oxford: Oxfam GB.
Raftopoulos B. 2005. ‘The Zimbabwean crisis and the challenges for the Left’. Public Lecture Delivered at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. 23 June 2005 Raftopoulos B and I Phimister. 2004. ‘Zimbabwe now: the political economy of crisis and coercion’. Historical Materialism. 12(4).
Ranger T. 2004. ‘Nationalist historiography, patriotic history and the history of the nation: the struggle over the past in Zimbabwe’. Journal of Southern African Studies. 30(2).
Rowlands J. 2003. ‘Beyond the comfort zone: some issues, questions, and challenges in thinking about development approaches and methods’ in Eade D (ed). 2003. Development Methods and Approaches: Critical Ref!ections. Oxford: Oxfam GB.
Sachikonye L. 2002. ‘Whither Zimbabwe? Crisis and democratisation’. Review of African Political Economy. 29(91).
Uphoff N. 1996. ‘Why NGOs are not a third sector’ in Edwards M and D Hulme (eds).1996. Beyond the Magic Bullet: NGO Performance and Accountability in the Post-Cold War World. Connecticut: Kumarian Press.
USAID. 2002. Foreign Aid in the National Interest. Washington.
Vakil A. 1997. ‘Confronting the classification problem: toward a taxonomy of NGOs’. World Development. 25(12).
Yeros P. 2002. ‘Zimbabwe and the dilemmas of the Left’. Historical Materialism. 10(2).