Date of Award

2012

Publication Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology

Keywords

Biopolitics, Governance, International Development, The Philippines, The World Bank

Supervisor

Suzan Ilcan

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the policies and practices of development as a biopolitical technology for managing culturally perceived `risky' populations in the southern Philippines. Since post-9/11 and its reinforcement by the war on terrorism, the interrelations of security and development underscore the proliferation of securitized discourses that operate within and beyond transnational aid organizations. Within this security-development nexus, I focus on the World Bank's ARMM Social Fund Project. I analyze its techniques of generalized descriptions, quantifications, and responsibilization that aim to shape individuals occupying the ARMM `borderland' as a governed entity. I reveal how these biopolitical techniques guide the actions of the poor, shape ideas of poverty and poverty reduction, and legitimize development interventions that aim to manage the lives of the poor. The thesis concludes by examining new possibilities for social transformations that link local struggles with transnational actions.

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