Value contestations in development interventions: Community development and sustainable livelihoods approaches

This paper situates community development and sustainable livelihoods approaches as forms of strategic thinking based on different value orientations within the development policy sphere. The two approaches are presented as part of a continuum in the field of development; however in their differences we see reflected a critical shift in the relationship between the state, the market and people. Despite these differences, what they both share is a dismissal of the value contestations that underpin people's livelihood interests and experiences. This argument is illustrated with a case from Bolivia, which demonstrates that any policy capacity to act at a local level today must involve a willingness to tackle issues of value contestation and the impacts of globalization. This raises the question of how policy values relate to the complexities of the everyday practicalities of livelihoods and livelihood discontinuities.