Responding to China—Changing Donor Discourse and Perspectives on Africa?

Abstract

In the past decade new donors, especially China, have become important in the international system and have developed relationships with states in sub-Saharan Africa that present a challenge to the established donors of the OECD. At the same time the international financial crisis of 2008 has weakened both Europe and America ideologically, as well as in terms of their comparative international power based on economic strength. For many states this has meant a significant reduction in aid budgets, making it more likely that the influence of non-OECD donors, including China, will continue to grow. What does this mean for the development programs of OECD states, including Ireland and the UK, and for their relationship with the governments of sub-Saharan African states? This paper answers this question, analysing the policy discourse of the UK and Irish development agencies to determine if it has shifted in the period 2006—11 in response to the changing international realities, including the challenges presented by the rise of China as a donor. It does this by using a word-count, content analysis of key documents published by the Irish and British development agencies. It finds a significant level of readjustment to the new international realities in both sets of documents, including a significant rehabilitation of the image of Africa.