POLITICS, INSTITUTIONS, POVERTY - THE CASE OF KARACHI

Poverty alleviation is the trendy and fashionable slogan for the end o f the 1990s. Projects will be defined with a specific focus on the poo r, often with the help of donor money channelled through non-governmen tal organisations (NGOs). This attempt, while well meaning, will invar iably be at a micro level with a narrow focus, often ignoring the caus es for the existence of poverty in the first place. Band-Aid social wo rk of this variety will certainly improve the living conditions of a n umber of beneficiaries in the project area. However, poverty is primar ily a political issue, caused and maintained by factors of a macro nat ure and by institutions which function in a specific, political, envir onment. This paper argues that politics comes prior to poverty, as do institutions. The failure of institutions to address issues of poverty and development are seen here as essentially political failures. Look ing back over the the last decade, it would be difficult to find a mor e politicised, violent, ethnically divided, alienated city than Karach i. The paper concludes with the assertion that far-reaching and substa ntial political and institutional reform, must come first in any attem pt to alleviate poverty, particularly in Karachi.