THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE - AGENCY IN POSTSTRUCTURAL CRITIQUES OF DEVELOPMENT

Anthropologists inspired by the works of Michel Foucault have describe d development as a discourse imposed on the Third World by powerful we stern institutions. In defining the power of such agencies (especially the World Bank) these authors focus not on the practices of actors or sets of actors, but rather on the ability of such institutions to sha pe perceptions of Third World peoples and to limit ways of thinking ab out the world and imagining change. While the focus on language Is hel pful to understanding how development agendas are ''deployed'' through out the world many critics overlook the important role of local elite groups as well as the agency of development's ''target populations.'' The uses of, and popular responses to, ''sustainable development'' and other development strategies in Bogota, Colombia, show that the devel opment discourse is neither so monolithic nor so hegemonic as some cri tics suggest. Because of sustainable development's vague mandate and i mprecise terminology, it has been easily manipulated and rewritten at the local level.