Contending logics of action in development cooperation: The bill and melinda gates foundation's work on gender equality

Development cooperation has always been exposed to changing regimes of ideas that have shaped thought and action, directed policy agendas and the distribution of resources. Some of these have become higher-order logics of action that guide and drive particular forms of institutional and organizational change. This article builds an analytical framework for empirically exploring logics of action in development cooperation and then explores a case of how two strong logics, those of ‘cost-effectiveness’ and ‘gender equality and women’s empowerment’, respectively, contend in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Drawing on contemporary sociological institutionalist theorization, the article thus contributes to discussions of ideas and logics of action in development cooperation by presenting how these can be approached analytically as they are at play in exactly that—action.