EMPOWERMENT AT LAST?

The World Bank and other international development agencies have declared empowerment to be central to their anti-poverty programmes. They are vague over meaning, and may be using the term partly to advance their own organizational interests. The term may imply more political confrontation than international organizations are able to cope with. If they to take empowerment seriously, they need to think more about practical strategies. Their best approach might be indirect and parametric, rather than direct and interventionist: helping to create a political environment that enables poor people to organize themselves, rather than by supporting poor peoplesʹ organizations directly.