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Narrative of Complacency: international donor perceptions and narratives helped to perpetuate irrigation system problems in Indonesia

By Amanda Repella On January 7, 2013 · Add Comment · In Insights

International donors promote the widespread adoption of various policy trends and are able to influence policy with developing countries through funding schemes. The perceptions of international donors and dominant policy narratives may not align with the development conditions at the local or national levels, which can lead to ineffective development funding and perpetuate a cycle of ineffective policy and programs. Dr. Diana Suhardiman of the International Water Management Institute and Dr. Peter Mollinga of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, examined the international donors and dominant policy narratives over the past five decades in Indonesian irrigation policy and used this detailed case study to illustrate that when national policies are strongly shaped by international trends, there is a potential that assumptions about causal mechanisms or organizational motivations may lead to financial and institutional arrangements that cannot produce the desired outcome and may perpetuate or exacerbate a negative result.