Does Political Power Work in Africa’s Slums? Dilemmas and Lessons of International Development Policies Around Kenyan Urban Segregates from the Post-Development Perspective

Abstract

The Post-Development movements have not been able to fully answer the dilemma of how to replace the 'dominance of political power' in international development relations. The question we seek to answer in this article is to what extent the aid system has changed in terms of implementation of development policies on the ground. We first critically examine the anomalies inherent in some of the principles, as well as the theoretical issues that are often only visible from fieldwork, but whose resolution is crucial for a more effective practice of aid. Later, while exploring the current and unresolved dilemmas of development aid, we draw lessons from programs in urban slums in Kenya in the context of external power and power dominance. The special focus of this article is to explore the processes slum policy upgrading—the implementation of the historically largest Kenyan Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme (KENSUP) project.

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