ABSTRACT
Participation has been pushed to the center of the development agenda in the face of enormous challenges confronting the globe. Since the 1990s, we have witnessed a search for development strategies that go beyond benefi ciary participation to inclusive, deepened participation, together with an increasing emphasis on good governance. This does not suggest that participatory development in itself is a new phenomenon. It is as old as human society and is common to all political systems, both democratic and nondemocratic, with the former providing a more conducive environment for its practice. Even colonial governments used participatory development in the form of community development as a means to reduce costs through involvement of people in their own development.
