Vicki-Ann Ware

Domains of faith impact: how “faith” is perceived to shape faith-based international development organisations

ABSTRACT Increasing interest in faith-based international development organisations (FBOs) recently has improved understanding of these agencies. One reason for complex, often contradictory findings is the lack of frameworks analysing the interactions of worldviews on organisational structures, processes, and behaviours of agencies, and development outcomes. We utilise Lincolns (2003. Holy Terrors: Thinking about Religion after September 11. Chicago: University of Chicago Press) four “domains of religion” to explore how the literature reports faith impacting the shape of development FBOs’ structures, behaviours, and outcomes. Literature suggests faith has a significant impact upon these agencies. We outline very specific similarities and differences, highlighting the importance of nuanced analysis of faiths role in FBOs. Further research is needed to build more evidence around these impacts of faith on FBOs.

L’implication des missionnaires pentecôtistes dans l’aide au développement en Asie du Sud-Est

A noticeable shift has been recently observed in Western-based Pentecostal mission agencies’ activities in mainland Southeast Asia. Where once these organizations avoided a visible priority on social justice as being at odds with their understanding of mission, the funding for and implementation of such programs has increased dramatically for the last two decades. This shift in focus is best understood by considering the motivations for this work and the perceived differences between evangelism and development work. This paper explores the motivations of these agencies for engaging in international development, and in particular the extent to which development programs are seen by these agencies as a strategy for proselytization and the extent to which they are conducted out of other humanitarian motivations. The research is based on a phenomenological literature survey and new interview data exploring development operations of western-based Pentecostal mission organizations in mainland Southeast Asia. Analysis of these data challenges preconceived notions of a distinction between motives of evangelism and humanitarian concern.

Development in Fragile States and Situations: Theory and Critique

Over the last decade or two, in particular, ‘fragile states’ have been linked in policy discourse with the worst extremes of personal and international security risk, including cross-border violent conflict, extremism, terrorism, organised crime, smuggling, human trafficking and pandemic disease. While factors like poor governance, human rights abuses, weak institutions and contested power may allow such eventualities in some cases, and the vast majority of contexts assessed as ‘weak’, ‘fragile’ or ‘failed’ have high levels of poverty and insecurity, the correlations are not as simple as once thought. These are complex issues, plagued with ambiguity and contested terminology, which fit within a discourse driven as much by power and national security self-interest as by a desire to address the underlying issues for the people most impacted.