Power structures in local and international development aid : A case study of two organizations working in Peru

Abstract: The purpose of this essay is to examine what power relations are created or allowed by the structures of two very different development aid organizations. One organization is a Peruvian organization called ASDE, that recieves financial support from other organizations with different nationalities. The other is CARE Peru which is a Peruvian department of the international organization CARE International. It has become increasingly important in the global aid business to emphasize a partnership on equal premises and make sure that the donors do not have too much control over the aid given. This ideology does not only apply to the administrative level of aid but can also be applied to the relationship between the organization workers in the project area and the target group participants. The bottom-up structure ideal can be seen both as a goal in itself but also as a means to achieve efficiency and sustainability in the aid given. The two organizations compared are of very different structure, allowing me to examine and compare the power relations that the structures carry within. The empirical data was collected during a three months field study in Peru in the spring semester of 2010. The results of the study show that the two organizations have power relations embedded in the structures over which they in some cases have and in others do not have power. In addition to systems within the global aid business over which the organizations have no power, the power relations between organization employees and target group participants, as well as the level of participation of target group participants, are dependent on the purpose and strategies of the organization. These in turn depend on the structure of the organization. In this way the bigger structures of the organizations affect the level of participation and ownership on a local level. The study shows that it is more probable to achieve an equal relationship between workers and target group being a smaller, locally created organization. However, it also puts light on the difficulties created by global systems of development aid as well as the practical difficulties, when striving towards the ideals of equality, local ownership and participation.