Two models of community-centered development in Myanmar.

• Development ideologies have shaped two models of community-centered development in Myanmar. • SMU reflects the perspectives of the developmental state while the NCDDP represents revised neoliberalism. • The two models differ regarding the main agency of change, the handling of power, and the prioritized dimensions of development. Community-centered development (CCD) has gained renewed interest as a means of providing aid to fragile states. This paper aims to explore how CCD aid projects in a fragile state are shaped by distinctive ideologies. Using document reviews, stakeholder interviews, and spatial analysis, this paper analyzes two aid projects in Myanmar: the Korean government-supported Saemaul Undong (SMU, New Village Movement) and the World Bank-supported National Community-Driven Development Project (NCDDP). Each project reflects the perspectives of the developmental state and revised neoliberalism, respectively. This study finds that the intervention strategies of SMU and NCDDP differ in terms of their main agency of change, handling of power, and prioritized dimensions of development. SMU engages with government extension workers as change agents, and ties accountability to performance. By contrast, the NCDDP works with private facilitators and emphasizes the processes of inclusion. This paper suggests that one useful tool for CCD intervention is the deconstruction and integration of East Asian/Southern and Western/Northern approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]