The colonial present in international development? The case of German interventions in obstetric care in Tanzania

Daniel Bendix
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Daniel Bendix: Department of Development and Postcolonial Studies, Institute of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kassel, Germany

Progress in Development Studies, 2016, vol. 16, issue 3, 229-243

Abstract: This article investigates whether colonialism is alive in contemporary German development cooperation (GDC) on obstetric care in Tanzania. Drawing on archives and interviews, it compares present-day interventions to German policy in ‘German East Africa’ (GEA) at the beginning of the 20th century. It argues that contemporary development cooperation can be considered colonial to a certain extent in that it is marked by a combination of racialization, developmentalism and trusteeship. However, colonial power today is fractured as German development professionals’ accounts of their work display a considerable degree of hesitancy and doubt. This article contributes to the knowledge on colonialism and development by discerning colonial power in the under-researched case of GDC as well as in the context of concrete policy and practice in a particular field of intervention.

Keywords: development cooperation; colonialism; obstetric care; Germany; Tanzania; ‘German East Africa’ (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:prodev:v:16:y:2016:i:3:p:229-243

DOI: 10.1177/1464993416641579

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