Actors and Instruments in Law and Development Governance : An Overview

Development is not a pre-existing ontological category but a contested concept that must be defined anew for every place and time. Defining development is ultimately a political process of making choices about the use of economic, social, cultural or epistemic instruments. To understand this process, it is crucial to know who has voice in it, and how this voice can be raised and made heard. Law plays an important role in assigning voice to actors and in providing instruments through which they act and make their voice heard. Instruments are thus tools for actors and forms of voice in the political process of development. This entry provides a brief overview of actors and instruments in the international process of development