Abstract/Summary

Drawing on non-representational theory, using as an example the work of Gilles Deleuze, we offer a complementary perspective on critical institutionalism. We examine four case studies of community-based water management in the Upper West Region of Ghana, which has empowered communities and encouraged democratically accountable approaches, while also underpinning discriminatory practices. We find this can be attributed to institutional bricolage, but we argue that non-representational theory also provides an alternative orientation to our data. It allows the agency of disempowered individuals to be recast as acts of hope.