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The rejection of the concept of development itself is based on a paradox
and post-development writers have been criticised for offering few alterna-
tives except the self-organising capacity of the poor (Nederveen Pieterse,
2000). Sharpley (2009b: 102) argues that, 'with an emphasis on the discourse
of development and an eclectic philosophical underpinning, post-develop-
ment offers little by way of a solution to the development “impasse”'. The
post-development writers favour revitalised versions of non-modern or non-
Western philosophies and cultures, as Western development is a destructive
force to be resisted (Peet, 1999). In describing post-development theory in
practice, Sahle (2009: 79) states that while the movements are not mono-
lithic, they tend to 'engage in participatory forms of politics, value local ways
of knowing and solutions, seek autonomy from the state and international
development institutions, and promote pluralistic ways of thinking in terms
of economic, cultural and political practices'. One of the recurring themes in
post-development is the support of local initiatives and the importance of
community involvement in the development process (Peet, 1999).
The Impasse and Post-development and Tourism
The critiques involved in post-development share some similarities with
those in tourism writing on dependency, post-colonialism and the alterna-
tive development paradigm for their criticisms of foreign control and histori-
cal legacy. The debate over the value of post-development as a theoretical
approach has also been addressed in the tourism literature. The overriding
concept of rejecting development itself in post-development is questioned by
Scheyvens (2002a), who illustrates the potential contribution of backpacker
tourism to Third World development. She draws on the work of Rangan
(1996), who states that it is ironic that while there are calls for a post-devel-
opment era, it occurs when the voices from the margin are demanding greater
access to the idea of development. Scheyvens argues that backpackers do
have a role to play in the development process and the notion of rejecting all
forms of tourism development when it is a desirable livelihood option in
many Third World countries is inappropriate. She goes on to state that,
rather than reflecting on the problems of being integrated into global tourism
as underdogs, local communities often pursue the opportunities the industry
can bring. Similarly, in the case of ecotourism in Celestun, Mexico, Azcárate
(2006) argues that the reliance of post-development approaches severely
restricts how tourism works in practice. However, Butcher and Smith (2010)
argue that the politics that are behind volunteer tourism are better charac-
terised as a rejection of modernisation as development in favour of a post-
development approach. In addition to the work on how post-development
relates to tourism development in terms of theory, there are also debates
over the concept of post-development in tourism practice. For example,
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