Negotiating Poverty: New Directions, Renewed Debate

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Over one and a half billion people live on the equivalent of less than one US dollar a day. As the gap between rich and poor continues to grow, more people than ever before live below the poverty line and their numbers will increase. The debate over how to tackle global poverty is fierce. On the one hand there are senior politicians and international organisations such as the World Bank and IMF, who assume that poverty is best alleviated by incorporating the poor into the globalised market. They have drawn up a policy document called 'Guidelines on Poverty Reduction', which outlines principles and aims for poverty reduction. On the other hand there are the development experts, activists and academics, who argue that the global market itself is the cause of continued poverty and suffering. Negotiating Poverty tells their side of the story, grounded in a critical examination of these new Guidelines. With contributions from leading academics and activists who debated the Guidelines along with the politicians, it offers a radical analysis of the real issues. They argue that before any effective strategy can be put into action, the poor themselves must be included in the debate. For those in the developed world, responsibility must be taken for contributing to the creation of poverty before it can effectively be eradicated. Chapters cover the aims and framework of poverty reduction; the role of the global market; the problems of employment; human security; environmental security; legal aspects; and the practical problems of implementation.

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Neil Middleton has written widely on development and aid and is a consultant with ETC-UK. He is the co-author, with Phil O’Keefe, of Redefining Sustainable Development and Disaster and Development: the Politics of Humanitarian Aid, both published by Pluto Press. Phil O’Keefe teaches Economic Development and Environmental Management at the University of Northumbria. He is also the Director of ETC-UK. Rob Visser is Deputy Director of the Department of Social Policy of the Ministry of Foreign affairs of the Netherlands. He also lectures on Environment & Security in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Utrecht.