Beyond Aid Effectiveness?: Private and Public Partnerships in South Korea’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) Strategy as Soft Power Strength and Weakness

Abstract

In 2009 Hubbard and Duggan published their book ‘The Aid Trap’ which argued that a thriving private business sector in the recipient country must be encouraged. Otherwise foreign aid simply reinforces debt, poverty and dependency. This debate between neoliberal and neo-Keynesian approaches influenced the formation of effective foreign aid `strategies from new ODA donors such as South Korea. South Korea’s role in the ODA debate represents a more general geopolitical shift by emerging nations. The paper provides a critical assessment of South Korea’s state-led and soft power ODA policies by focusing on initiatives on aid effectiveness and fostering private/public partnerships (PPP’s). The paper goes on to critically consider and judge these eliteled ODA initiatives by addressing a grassroots NGO perspective.