Civil Society Knowledge Networks: International Development and the Globalization of Ideas (Critical Frontiers of Theory, Research, and Policy in International Development Studies)

Development has long been a field of epistemic debate.Where do the ideas and knowledge that underpin the practices and approaches of international development come from?Who generates and who promotes them, and why? Do ideas really matter at all - or does the practice of development carry on 'business-as-usual' while conceptual fads come and go on grant applications? And crucially, how do these evolving ideas shape broader societal worldviews?This book investigates the creation, spread and contestation of ideas within global networks of development organizations and the communities they work with.To do so, it draws on multi-spatial ethnographies of two globally interconnected networks - one linking an American family foundation, Kenyan non-profits, community-based organizations, and grassroots activists, the other connecting a global foundation headquartered in Switzerland, Kyrgyz NGOs, and village working groups.Both networks revolve around ecological projects intended to support pasto