Politics, Agricultural Development, and Conflict Resolution

Using the Moyen Bani Programme as an example, External Assistance or External Interference gives an analysis of a grassroots conflict which, not foreseen at project design, lasted six years in Mali. This book provides the historical, economic, and political backgrounds that influenced the design and the conflict resolution. Concepts of perception, emotion, and identity explain the frames of the actors in the conflict. Notions including static and dynamic frames are used to explain their positions at different times during the conflict resolution. It explores the need of protagonists in rural conflicts to increase the political and economic resources they possess to achieve their goals. This need brought the intervention into the conflict of an international NGO. The book examines the “whys” and “wherefores” of the intervention by the NGO. The effects of the conflict on the project results are examined. The book contributes to the development of paradigms for conflict resolution as well as for project planning and analysis.