ABSTRACT
This chapter explores one of the paths which may lead to a lessening of the inequalities between nations. It is not a suggestion for a new development program but rather a request that we change the way in which we think about the change agents involved in international technical assistance. Since the "Declaration on the Establishment of the New International Order" was passed by the United Nations in 1974 there has been considerable discussion of ways of reshaping the basic economic and political processes that underlie international relationships. A review of the technical assistance literature, both professional and academic, written in English since the 1940s, shows that "advisor" is increasingly replacing "expert." The change agent role in the technical assistance process should be redesigned to include both the advisor and the counterpart in a dyadic relationship. This will allow a more equal participation in and responsibility for the change process by people from the LDCs.
