External Forces In Rural Development

External Forces, Development Finance, and Power
Finance and capital equipment are just some of the elements of the instruments used by external forces to exert or exercise power over the rural areas in developing countries. “Rural areas” here include people, their economic and social activities and their ideas and what they think or are encouraged to think. Many types of “external forces” get involved in the rural areas and in rural development in particular. Unfortunately, not much has been written comprehensively about the power of these external forces in the rural development activities in Africa. The power relationship, or better still, the power play among the different forces and their effect on the rural areas, have so far not received

2, 3) in assessing the rural development situation in India, discussed the external factors, that would influence its efforts at rural improvement. The Plan defined these as political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, environmental, and legal. The opportunities, threats, enabling features and other aspects that could militate against any positive attribute of these external factors or what I would term, external forces were also discussed. Even though not meant in the sense as external forces, some of these external factors were brought up by Kragelund (2010, pp. 6, 12, 24) in his paper on aid from non-traditional donors to Africa. Kragelund discusses in depth the technical cooperation for development from these sources. Kragelund analyzed the roles these interventions play in the development of the rural and urban areas in Africa. The issues are discussed in terms of potential and possible impact on the development agendas of the countries in which the non-traditional donors

Others discuss the efforts of the donors to attain development assistance targets established during international conferences. Such conferences are held periodically between African countries and various donors. (see Kragelund 2010, pp. 4–7, 11, 12, 13; see also France 24). Still others like Anup Shah (2014) and, to some extent, Martens (2004, pp. 6, 7, 13) and Rena (2008) discuss what they call the underlying evidence showing the real intent of aid giving. They join Alesina and Dollar in their statement that political, economic, and strategic considerations strongly influence aid giving. The statement of the late President Kennedy of the USA confirms this, when he asserted in 1962 that foreign aid is a method for the United States to maintain a position of influence and control around the world. This is evidenced, as Lancaster stated, in Kennedy’s administration of promoting development as a priority of foreign aid as a means to “the end of the Cold War containment. (see Lancaster 2007, p. 69; see also US Congressional Budget Office 1997, p. 2). The different donors possess various tools or instruments that constitute the elements of the external forces, which affect African rural economies. These include technical assistance, training, project or program loans, policy loans and grants, sector loans and grants,