Space, Power and Development: Public Interventions in Argentina in early 21st Century

Abstract

Based on an analysis of Argentinean public governance in the early 21^st century, this article offers an interpretative framework on the notions of space and power in development policies. The goal is to understand the relationship between notions of power, space and development through an analysis of bureaucracies. The revision of the specialized literature helps address two specific development policies: “Programa de Atención a Grupos Vulnerables” and “Programa Nacional de Microcrédito para la Economía Social”. Our hypothesis is that the literature conceptualizes power, space and development in a manner that fails to account for specific problematics of how peripheral countries deal with public policies in the early 21^st century. In so far as state bureaucracies responsible for developmental policies base their interventions on criteria that are pervaded by different and / or contradictory worldviews, our argument is that a conceptual debate should help clarify positions and suggest alternative models of governance.