Why do we know what we know about development? Knowledge production in Canadian academic-civil society research partnerships

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines how power operates through processes of knowledge production in the Canadian political economy. I draw from the sociology of knowledge to explore four dimensions of power. The first considers implicit power through values and norms; the second, control of means and resources; the third, the exercise of power in social relations; and the fourth, “power as capacity” – that is, how participants engage with research partnerships differently from other forms of development practice. My case studies illustrate the variety of ways in which research partnerships in Canada both reproduce and challenge knowledge hierarchies domestically and globally.