The World Bank's Participatory Development Approach in the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) Paper for the Republic of Senegal: Rhetoric or Reality?

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to study the World Bank's participatory development process in the 2007 Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for the Republic of Senegal. I seek to shed light on the question of whether or not the Bank is willing to follow through its participatory commitment. Participatory development refers to the process of developing strategies which incorporate beneficiaries of development in theirs own development. Over the two last decades, practitioners of economic development initiatives have implemented development programs which embrace the participatory approach to put developing countries in the path of development. In this thesis, I undertake an examination of the participatory process through the lens of the 2007 Senegalese' CAS, which is a World Bank' strategy to help borrowing countries meet their key development challenges by incorporating Civil Societies Organizations (CSOs) in the process of the formulation and implementation. I looked at the evolution of economic development thinking since the 1950s to present decade to show how participatory development has been adopted as part of the development agenda in the development community. Going beyond the discourse about the effectiveness of participatory development, I examine the critiques of the process as analyzed by critics of the World Bank, and then broadly examine how the participatory process is perceived by main stakeholders in Senegal. I argue that, in the case of Senegal, the Bank is prompted to put participation in practice the CAS drafting but the process does not fully reach out all stakeholders such as the marginalized groups and some NGOs. Evidences suggest that the Bank consult widely with the Senegalese government as evidence of participation, however large number of stakeholders are not active participants with decision-making power in the participatory development process.