INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT VOLUNTEERING FROM SINGAPORE TO CAMBODIA: INVESTIGATING THE LINKAGES AND TENSIONS BETWEEN RELATIONSHIPS AND DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

MY THESIS ANALYSES INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT VOLUNTEERING (IDV) THROUGH THE CONCEPTUAL LENS OF RELATIONSHIPS, PARTICULARLY THROUGH LOCAL SCALE PROCESSES. IT RESPONDS TO THE OVERARCHING CRITIQUES OF PARTNERSHIPS AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH A LOCAL SCALE, `ACTOR-ORIENTED? PERSPECTIVE (MOSSE, 2004), UNPACKING AND UNDERSTANDING DEVELOPMENT FROM THE BOTTOM UP. I DO THIS THROUGH AN EXAMINATION OF THE SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION?S (SIF) IDV PROJECTS IN CAMBODIA. SIF IS AN ORGANISATION ENGAGING IN PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE RELATIONS AND IDV. IT THUS EMPHASISES THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS IN ITS PURSUIT OF BOTH CITIZEN DIPLOMATIC AND DEVELOPMENT AIMS. CONCEPTUALISING DEVELOPMENT RELATIONSHIPS AS DISCURSIVE, STRUCTURAL AND INTERPERSONAL, I EXAMINE INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS AND THEIR SPATIO-TEMPORAL FEATURES. I EXAMINE HOW RELATIONSHIPS FORM AMONG INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANISATIONS, AND THE ROLE THEY PLAY IN DEVELOPMENT, DOMESTIC AND DIPLOMATIC IMPACT. MY ANALYSIS ILLUMINAT