The Glocalization of Development: How Global Institutions are Negotiated Locally

Local life worlds are increasingly permeated by global norms and global knowledge, which challenge local institutions and authorities. This is especially true for the so-called non-western states, in which international development programs contribute to spreading and implementing the ideas of good development. In particular, this includes introducing human rights standards, anticorruption programs, or ideas of social responsibility. So far research has focused mainly on the horizontal, that is, formal dissemination of norms. Vertical localization of global institutions and their often controversial local understanding as well as the practice of implementing and translating global institutions are less well-researched. Localization, or embedding of global institutions in the local social environment, brings about a number of challenges, conflicts and obstacles. Some relevant, often discussed examples for this are the introduction of women's rights, the inclusion of previously marginalized groups, or the creation of new property regulations in the framework of international development projects.