‘Just same as others?’: can individual’s effort overcome power imbalance? policy and practice in a JICA’s aid in Sri Lanka

Power relationship is one of the main discussion in international aid industry. It is said that aid donor and recipient do not have equal power relationship because of colonial history or donor’s economical and political interests. This research examined the relationship between donor and recipient through the lens of power cube approach. Further, it discusses how the power relationship affects recipient’s ownership through the analysis of case study; Japan’s ODA. Based on the research, it seems that the decision-making process were occurred in closed space where limited people have access, and it is controlled by the donor. On the other hand, there is a space that donor tried to include stakeholders more. However, there is an unequal embedded power in the project that is difficult undo that remains. Even though, the experts put effort to undo this relationship, still, it is difficult to overcome.