Journal of International Development
October 2015 Volume 27, Issue 7 Pages 881–1350
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jid.v27.6/issuetoc

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Rescuing Girls, Investing in Girls: A Critique of Development Fantasies (pages 881–897)
Cynthia M. Caron and Shelby A. Margolin
Article first published online: 24 SEP 2015 | DOI: 10.1002/jid.3146
Abstract
The girl child increasingly is at the centre of development programming. We draw on Slavoj Zizek’s notion of fantasy to show how and, more importantly, why girl-centred initiatives reproduce the shortcomings of women and gender-focused programmes before them. Through an analysis of three girl-centred campaigns, we illustrate how experts identify and diagnose girls’ problems and prescribe solutions that not only circumscribe girls’ futures, but are also counterproductive. We argue that even as campaigns try to integrate lessons learned from earlier gender and development initiatives, the critical reflection that a Zizekian approach promotes would better enable development actors to reformulate campaigns and fundamental campaign assumptions.

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Knowing and Doing Between the Academic and Policy Worlds in Development Assistance (pages 1294–1311)
Morgan Brigg, Jodie Curth-Bibb, Elizabeth Strakosch and Martin Weber
Article first published online: 22 JAN 2015 | DOI: 10.1002/jid.3068
Abstract
Policy professionals overseeing the provision of development assistance and their critical academic counterparts are often at odds with each other. Although many agree that it is useful to deal with this tension, current efforts to do so tend to exhort each to be more like the other under the rhetoric of ‘evidence-based policy’. Meanwhile, the differences between these players are kept alive by mutual misunderstandings that can border upon stereotyping. This paper reflects on this situation from the perspective of the critical academic and offers an enhanced understanding of key positions and misapprehensions to contribute to a foundation for improved relationships.

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From Unconventional to Ordinary? The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Homogenizing Effects of International Development Cooperation (pages 1098–1112)
Adam Moe Fejerskov
Article first published online: 9 SEP 2015 | DOI: 10.1002/jid.3149
Abstract
The majority of the literature on new actors in development cooperation explores how these alter the field. This article presents a reverse case of how the strong homogenizing norms and principles of international development may turn an unconventional development actor into something quite conventional and more alike to well-established actors. Drawing on insights from institutional theory, it examines organizational changes in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation from formation until today and argues that the foundation has progressed from a state of intentional isolation to one of actively engaging in and adhering to the field’s norm and principle-setting. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.