Disability-inclusive development: a postcolonial analysis in Lao PDR

Abstract

In the last few years, the international development community has been promoting Disability-Inclusive Development (DID). However, there is no consistent definition of this approach, and it is applied differently by international development and humanitarian organizations. In this article I explore the possibility that Disability-Inclusive Development is creating new forms of colonial power through the work of international organizations in the Global South, and how organizations of persons with disabilities are interpreting this approach. I focus on the case of Lao People’s Democratic Republic to understand how and when Disability-Inclusive Development is embraced or rejected.

Points of Interest

• International organizations promote disability inclusion through an approach known as Disability-Inclusive Development.

• Foreign donors, international organizations and local organizations differ on how to include people with disabilities and their organizations.

• The research addresses Lao PDR as a case study to show how international organizations partner with local organizations of persons with disabilities.

• The research reveals the difficulty of implementing a Disability-Inclusive Development approach without a good understanding of local organizations.

• The research recommends foreign donors and international organizations to build up a common understanding of disability inclusion with local organizations of persons with disabilities.

Keywords:

• Disability-Inclusive Development
• postcolonialism
• development
• inclusion
• Lao PDR
• organizations of persons with disabilities

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank Humanity and Inclusion Lao PDR for their support in conducting the field research. I wish to also extend my gratitude to the participants of this study, the IGLP 2020 Global Scholars Academy, particularly my writing group, Malcolm MacLachlan, Nora Croce, Delia Ferri, Perri Leviss and Emma Smith for their comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)

Disability-Inclusive development

A Postcolonial Analysis in Lao PDR.

Data availability statement

The data that supports the findings of this study are available upon request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy and ethical restrictions of the research participants.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Irish Research Council, under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND Collaborative Research Fellowships for a Responsive and Innovative Europe (CAROLINE) (Grant agreement no. 713279).