Housing and the state in the third world: Misperceptions and non‐perceptions in the international debate

Abstract

The article discusses the debate about the gigantic housing and squatter settlement problems in the Third World. For 10–15 years, the conventional wisdom adopted as the solution to the immense housing problem is self‐help housing. It is argued that most participants in this debate has not focused in their analyses on the state and its administration, and hence have wrongly assumed a “universalistic state”, i.e. a state governed by its own rules. Based on a study of India, the article argues that most states in the Third World are “particularistic”, i.e.’ governed by other factors than formal rules; factors like friendships, political connections and bribes. This interpretation of politics and public housing policy contradicts our common understanding of politics, and has vital consequences for housing as well as other policy sectors. Before the debate on housing programmes is likely to move any further, we have to overcome these misperceptions and non‐perceptions of the state in the Third World.