Global poverty and power relations: INGO workers’ perception of poverty in the Global South and their approach to sustainable poverty reduction
Valtonen, Anne-Marie (2024)
Valtonen, Anne-Marie
2024
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202401292160
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202401292160
Tiivistelmä
Poverty continues to be an extensive issue in the global sphere despite growing living standards around the world. Despite decades of poverty reduction efforts, several countries in the Global South continue to accommodate the world’s poor. In this thesis, the aim is to shed light on the factors behind such a phenomenon in which poverty is widespread in one part of the globe more than the other and to explore the connections to our current global structures. The intention is also to learn about what kind of actions are currently being taken to address poverty in the Global South in a sustainable way.
The research was conducted using a qualitative research method in which people from five International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed applying a thematic analysis method through which five main themes were derived from the participants’ answers; Historical legacy in today’s structures, Perceived powerlessness in the face of the global poverty issue, Promotion of localised approaches, Multidimensionality and diversity of responses to poverty, and The INGOs’ and their workers’ motivation in their work.
Ultimately, the main results indicated that all participants recognised the connections between the current global order of division of wealth and poverty and past as well as present power relations in the global sphere, their responses being predominantly in line with the literature framework that founds this thesis. All participating INGOs had for the most part adopted and implemented some of the key principles in order to shift power toward the Global South.
The research was conducted using a qualitative research method in which people from five International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed applying a thematic analysis method through which five main themes were derived from the participants’ answers; Historical legacy in today’s structures, Perceived powerlessness in the face of the global poverty issue, Promotion of localised approaches, Multidimensionality and diversity of responses to poverty, and The INGOs’ and their workers’ motivation in their work.
Ultimately, the main results indicated that all participants recognised the connections between the current global order of division of wealth and poverty and past as well as present power relations in the global sphere, their responses being predominantly in line with the literature framework that founds this thesis. All participating INGOs had for the most part adopted and implemented some of the key principles in order to shift power toward the Global South.