Development Cooperation Policy Research Articles

1975-1985: a catalyst for Global South-oriented advocacy by Dutch feminists

ABSTRACTThe article discusses the significance of the International Women's Year (IWY) and the United Nations (UN) Decade for Women for the development of Global South-oriented advocacy by feminists in the Netherlands. It examines how a focus on women evolved within Dutch development cooperation policy and development studies which persists to this day under the banner of ‘women’s rights, gender equality, and gender mainstreaming’. The article highlights instances of international advocacy fostered by the UN International Women’s Year Conference in 1975, the UN International Conference on Population in 1984 and the UN World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the UN Decade for Women in 1985, and how the advocacy efforts contributed to a reframing of the early Dutch policy approach of ‘women in development’.

Neišsivystęs vystomasis bendradarbiavimas. Lietuvos atvejis

This article strives to reveal the reasons hindering smooth implementation of Lithuania’s development cooperation policy. Although Lithuania is less than 8 years away from the target of official development assistance at least 0.33% of Gross National Income (GNI) per year, it is currently contributing only about one-third of this amount, which naturally raises the question “Why?”. Theoretical framework of the motivations behind development cooperation enforcement, specifically, Europeanisation theory, is chosen to support the research. Bearing in mind the scarcity of the academic body of work for this topic, the main instrument, questionnaire for the in-depth interviews with the main decision makers of Lithuania’s development cooperation was created. 17 semi-structured interviews with experts from various backgrounds provided the valuable material for this analysis and helped to provide possible answers to the matter in question.

The Impact of Technology Monopolization on the Technological Development and Foreign Economic Cooperation Policies of BRICS Countries

As the world economy has become more interconnected, technology's role as a driver of growth and a source of competitive advantage for businesses has grown in importance. The BRICS countries have been the engine of global economic growth for over a decade, but they now encounter varying degrees of opposition to their economic development. The developed world has implemented several strategies to preserve its position as the world's undisputed technological leader to maximize its profits and increase its market share. In order to accelerate economic growth, BRICS nations must work together to acquire cutting-edge technology that has been restricted from being exported to developing nations by developed nations. After providing a brief background on the technological monopolies of developed countries, this article analyzes the current state of technological development in the BRICS nations. Then it discusses the impact these monopolies have on technological progress before proposing countermeasures for foreign economic cooperation among the BRICS nations in light of these monopolies.

International development cooperation and political risks for transnational business: Linking research topics

International development cooperation and political risks for transnational business are two topics which have always drawn attention from specialists in international political economy. Each of these topics is studied by a dedicated subdiscipline with a specific terminology, strong analytical centers and influential peer-reviewed journals. Despite political risks had initially been associated with developing countries (and transition economies — after the Cold War), two distinctive research clusters have developed separately from one another — quite inexplicably. Drawing on the idea of immanent proximity of international development studies and political risk analysis, this paper develops the logic of blending their research agendas.The first two sections formulate key presumptions meant to justify the conjugation of two topics. The first presumption is an acknowledgement of an engrained commercial motivation in any modality of development cooperation and the latter’s ability to serve as a tool to promote foreign economic interests. The second presumption emphasizes the existence of an indissoluble link between political risks for business with socio-economic and political development disbalances within and between countries. The final section identifies concrete dimensions of conjugation of two research agendas, such as: 1) conducting political risk assessments in the course of programming and implementing development projects; 2) examining the impact of political risk manifestations on provider countries’ ability to mobilize financial resources for international development; studying the practices of using different development cooperation tools to mitigate political risks for foreign economic activity — both through a direct and deliberate reduction of risk perceived by business and through an indirect impact on the environment where political risks are formed; 4) exploring the logic of emergence of new risk factors (of various types) in the course of implementing development cooperation policies. The conclusion argues for focusing on the reverse impact of new trends in international development cooperation on the parameters of political risks for international business from the Western and non-Western countries amidst the global turbulence, using all available sources of statistical data — conventional and unconventional. It also draws a step-by-step research plan and assesses the theoretical and policy relevance of obtaining anticipated results.

Rethinking Australia’s role in international co-operation for the Sustainable Development Goals: Towards transformative horizontal partnerships through triangular co-operation

Despite progress in various areas of development, rates of food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty remain high. Additional environmental pressures such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and environmental degradation continue to disproportionately impact those who are most vulnerable. Inclusive models of co-operative action, as emphasised in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, are valued for their potential to solve development challenges, promote sustainable development outcomes, and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. International co-operation policy plays a crucial role in shaping how these international partnerships play out in practice. Over the several decades, the international development co-operation landscape has been shifting with a push for more ‘horizontal’ partnerships. Triangular co-operation is a potential model of partnership that embraces inclusivity and horizontality and is seen as a means to achieve the sustainable development agenda. In Australia, the election of a new federal government in May 2022 brought with it a renewed commitment to official development assistance and development co-operation policy and partnerships. The aim of this commentary is to take stock, pause, and reflect on how Australia currently ‘does development partnerships’ as well as looking to the future and the opportunities for change.

Sweden’s Development Policy Since 1990: A Policy Paradigm Shift Waiting to Happen?

Since the birth of the formal Swedish development policy in 1962, the overarching goal of Swedish aid has been poverty reduction. While the goal has been up for revision four times (under two social democratic and two conservative governments) it has only been rephrased rather than reformed. In addition, Sweden’s ambition to devote one per cent of its gross national income to development aid each year has been largely upheld since it was first achieved in 1975, save a period of 13 years (1993–2005, under the social democratic rule) where it was abandoned with reference to budgetary pressures. Aid was, however, never less than 0.7 per cent of GNI. Goals and volumes not being altered over time, even under government changes, suggest Swedish development cooperation policy has been formed under consensus. This apparent continuity, however, masks some important differences between political parties’ policy preferences, and the stability may be better explained by large majorities being in favour of current policies than by consensus. I argue that the preconditions for those differing ideational positions to be translated into policy change are today quite favourable, suggesting that a policy paradigm shift, a ‘radical policy change’, may be in the making.

Reading the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (2000-2021): geoeconomics, governance, and embedding ‘creative involvement’

ABSTRACT How China can promote its overseas commercial and strategic interests and protect its citizens and investments while continuing to adhere to a longstanding commitment to non-interference is a subject of intense policy and academic debate. A notion of ‘creative involvement’ has been developed to specify an increasingly flexible and pragmatic approach to projecting and managing China’s expanding global interests. In this research a close reading of the Declarations and Action Plans of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) over the period 2000–21 reveals specific degrees and types of embedding of Chinese involvement in Africa’s complex political economic landscape and an evolving reorientation of development cooperation policy practices shaped by growing concerns with African economic policy and local governance issues.

Development Cooperation Policies in Conflict-Affected Fragile States: The Case of Sweden

연구목적: 본 연구는 분쟁 및 취약국 지원을 위한 개발전략 및 정책 발전 과정을 스웨덴 사례를 중심으로 통시적 관점에서 고찰하는데 목적이 있다. 연구의 중요성: 기존의 분쟁 및 취약국 정책 연구는 주로 주요 공여국의 취약국 개발협력 현황 및 정책을 비교하는 것에 초점을 맞추어 온 반면, 분쟁, 안보, 평화 등의 개념과 사안이 개발협력 정책에 어떻게 반영되고 발전되어 왔는지에 대한 통시적 연구는 부족하다. 따라서 본 연구는 분쟁과 개발의 상호 연관성을 인식하고 이를 정책에 반영해 온 스웨덴 사례를 통해, 개발원조를 시작한 이후 최근에 이르기까지 분쟁 및 취약국 개발전략이 시대적 배경을 반영하여 어떻게 진화되어 왔는지 그 변화과정을 분석한다는 점에 중요성이 있다. 연구방법론: 1960년대부터 2010년대까지 발간된 스웨덴 정부 및 스웨덴개발청의 정책 문서와 주요 국제기구의 보고서, 관련 연구논문들을 바탕으로 문헌 분석을 실시하였다. 연구결과: 스웨덴은 1990년대부터 일찌감치 분쟁과 관련된 사안을 개발정책 영역에 반영하여 왔으며, 분쟁관점(Conflict Perspective) 을 개발정책 전반에 통합시키는 등 분쟁 및 취약국 개발정책에 선도적인 역할을 해 왔다. 최근에는 ‘양성평등 관점(Gender Perspective)’을 넘어 교차성 관점(Intersectional Perspective) 에 대한 중요성을 강조하며 여성 뿐만 아니라 넓은 의미의 취약 집단에 대한 각기 다른 요구 및 권리를 분쟁 관점에 포함시키기 위한 시도를 하고있다. 결론 및 시사점: 정책 문서의 통시적 고찰을 통해 스웨덴의 분쟁 및 취약국 개발정책이 수세기에 걸친 정책적 노력과 진화 과정의 결과임을 알 수 있다. 이는 정책적 구상이 발현된 국내외 시대적 배경 등을 간과한 채 단순히 선진 공여국의 정책을 차용하거나 우리나라 정책 구상에 반영하는 것이 적절하지 않을 수 있음을 보여준다. 따라서 실질적 정책 마련의 ‘시급함’ 보다 분쟁 및 취약국에 대한 이해와 관심이 저조한 배경과 원인에 주목하고, 이에 대한 충분한 연구를 기반으로 보다 우리나라 개발협력 체계에 적합한 정책을 수립하는 것이 중요하다.

Whose Knowledge? Whose Influence? Changing Dynamics of China’s Development Cooperation Policy and Practice

This article aims to investigate the recent evolution of China’s development policy and practice. More precisely, how do China’s policymakers and practitioners understand and debate China’s role in international development, specifically in the context of the global Covid-19 pandemic? China’s growing development activities overseas, particularly in the African continent, have spurred intense debate over its role as a rising power in international development. China is viewed in the West both as a threat and as a valuable potential partner in development cooperation. However, differences between Western and Chinese conceptions of development have complicated cooperation and understanding of China’s development policy. Further understanding of these differences is needed, in order to evaluate their implications for low-income countries, and for potential trilateral cooperation.

Japan’s development cooperation: from making amends to agenda–setting

This article revisits the post–World War II evolution of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) over the past 75 years, with a particular focus on the period starting from the 1980s and subsequent changes in Japan’s international development cooperation policies. I address cornerstones such as human security and quality growth, while examining the role of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), shifts and continuities in regional visions and sectoral priorities, such as infrastructure development. I argue that the threefold mix of key drivers behind Japan’s development cooperation has remained consistent, involving developmentalism stemming from Japan’s own experience of successful modernisation from a non–Western background, neo–mercantilism, as well as strategic and geopolitical considerations. The relative weight and interplay of these factors, however, fluctuated in different periods.

Democracy promotion under populist rule? The case of Poland’s democracy aid in Ukraine

The credibility of democracy promotion provided by countries experiencing democratic backsliding has raised many doubts lately. The goal of this exploratory paper is to examine Poland’s efforts to promote democracy through foreign aid in Ukraine. I find that after winning the elections in 2015, the populist government in Poland started to transform democracy aid both at the level of development cooperation policy and in practice in Ukraine, one of the biggest beneficiaries of Polish aid. Rather than explicitly questioning or limiting aid as an instrument of democracy promotion, support for civil society and human rights has been reduced, and the involvement of Polish NGOs, especially those strongly committed to transferring democratic values abroad, declined. Such changes are perceived as another layer of Poland’s democratic backsliding rooted in the anti-pluralism of the Law and Justice party. Thus, this paper enriches the debate on populism by showing the latter’s effects on democracy promotion.

Do women’s rights organisations need ‘femocrats’? The negotiation of the Peruvian–Spanish agreement for development co-operation 2013–2016

ABSTRACT In 2005, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) approved the aid effectiveness principles for improving the impact of Official Development Assistance (ODA). Donor countries such as Spain understood this agenda as an opportunity to promote gender equality in their development co-operation policy. However, gender equality almost disappeared as a priority in most of the bilateral agreements after 2005. This puzzling outcome leads me to ask how the implementation of the Paris principles made gender equality less of a priority, and how the feminist movement can ensure that gender equality and women’s rights are at the centre of this agenda. To answer these questions, I examine the negotiation process of the Peruvian–Spanish Strategic Framework 2013–2016. This case shows how exclusionary informal mechanisms may leave women’s rights organisations out of negotiation processes. I argue that connections of feminist and women’s movements with ‘femocrats’ and gender critical actors inside state machineries are crucial to defend gender equality as a priority sector. This is particularly relevant in the post-COVID-19 scenario and the global goal of ‘building back better’ with a gender lens. Without the participation of gender justice advocates in aid negotiation processes, it becomes more difficult to prioritise gender equality in bilateral co-operation agreements and, consequently, to allocate funds for women’s rights organisations.

〈利他〉から〈利己〉へ:―日本の開発協力政策を枠づける社会規範の転換過程―

〈利他〉から〈利己〉へ:―日本の開発協力政策を枠づける社会規範の転換過程―

Women, Peace, and Security Norm Diffusion in International Development Cooperation Policy: A Comparative Analysis of the UK and South Korea

Women, Peace, and Security Norm Diffusion in International Development Cooperation Policy: A Comparative Analysis of the UK and South Korea

Rural population and global citizenship: information, media and opinions on world problems

Support for global citizenship depends not only on the will of governments, but also on the opinions and feelings of their citizens. Success in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 depends to a great extent on the level of information and the awareness of the population. This qualitative study examined the main sources from which the inhabitants of rural areas receive information on global issues. It also sought their opinions on global citizenship. To this end, we held interviews with qualified informants and focus groups with residents of municipalities of different sizes in north-eastern Spain. The results highlight the importance of television and internet as the media most used by the rural population as sources of information. Physical proximity was also found to be a crucial factor in motivating rural citizens who often feel distanced from global issues. Many others do not support development cooperation policies, because they feel isolated and live in areas with dwindling populations.

Volume and Territorial Distribution of the Czech Republic’s Official Development Assistance Flows to Least Developed Countries

Abstract Official Development Assistance (ODA) is considered one of the most important external resources of finance that can contribute to sustainable development in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The Czech Republic, as an official donor country, should spend on ODA, with respect to the EU and national targets, at least 0.33% of its GNI by the year 2030. Eradication of poverty in the context of sustainable development belongs to the long-term priorities of the Czech foreign development cooperation, and thus the Czech Republic considers some LDCs, which population is more likely to live in extreme poverty, the priority partner countries. Paper evaluated fundamental trends of the Czech Republic’s ODA flows to LDCs; compared them with the trends identified for the collective flows of all DAC members and for the flows of its four selected members (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia). Identified trends of Czech ODA flows showed clearly that Czech Republic did not meet official commitments regarding the volume of ODA and that level of fragmentation of the ODA flows to LCDs was quite high when these trends were examined during the period 2000–2018. However, the Czech Republic’s development cooperation policy did not differ markedly from the policies of the other four ODA donors. Any significant differences were identified when the fundamental trends of Czech ODA flows were compared with those ones identified for Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

V4 & Development Co-operation Policy

Abstract The accession of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries to the European Union has triggered their active participation in assistance to less developed countries. Since joining the EU, the analyzed countries have developed ODA legislation and an institutional framework and increased financing in development co-operation. Being a member of the EU and DAC, all V4 countries also have their legal and financial obligations in the area of development co-operation. The shared experience of those countries in creating and implementing their development policy gives reason to investigate their aid systems, development policy challenges and implementation of their commitments as a group of donors. The aims of the paper are to identify main development trends of the V4 countries’ development policies as well as to investigate the implementation of their development commitments taken at a global and EU level. This has allowed to define the main challenges for V4 countries in delivering efficient development assistance to other developing countries in the future, such as improvements in institutional systems, transparent and clearly defined legislation as well as substantial increase of financing transferred by V4 to ODA.

The internationalization of Polish civil society elites and their impact on development cooperation policy and practice

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to discuss the rise of internationalized civil society elites in Poland engaged in the fields of development cooperation, democratization assistance, humanitarian relief and global education in the framework of private international governance theory.Design/methodology/approachQualitative sociological approach and the methodology of cross-case analysis are employed in this study of Polish internationalized civil society elites.FindingsEvidence would be provided that whereas in some donor countries the gap between civil society elites engaged abroad and their locally active colleagues obstructs the travel of ideas, in Poland aid professionals freely move between sectors, which has allowed for better exchange of know-how and also enhanced their influence on policy-making. At the same time, the existing divides within internationalized civil society elites in Poland – between “democratizing” or “developmental”, between secular and religious and between progressive and conservative as of late – are indicative of the ongoing formation of these elites and of the heterogeneity of the community of aid professionals.Social implicationsIn view of the worldwide fueling of populism by anti-elitist strategists, it is important to highlight the contribution of civil society elites to mainstreaming progressive humanitarian principles.Originality/valueWhereas existing studies on elite formation in postsocialist countries like Poland examine political elites or the role of the intelligentsia for the fledgling middle class and local civil society, this paper focuses on the emergence of a stratum of Polish elites, which are both internationalized and engaged in the nonprofit sector.

Análisis de la integración del enfoque de género en las políticas de cooperación al desarrollo: El caso de las instituciones de la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco

Este artículo se centra en el análisis de la integración del enfoque de género en los documentos de planificación de las políticas de cooperación al desarrollo y más concretamente de la cooperación descentralizada española. Para ello, se plantea un marco de referencia capaz de evaluar el diseño y la coherencia de las políticas, sin plantear por tanto un análisis de los resultados ni del impacto de dichas políticas, teniendo en cuenta las limitaciones en la aplicación de la perspectiva de género de los principales organismos internacionales de cooperación, las características de la cooperación descentralizada y la necesidad de un marco de evaluación de dichas políticas. Posteriormente utilizamos dicho marco para evaluar las políticas de cooperación de las principales instituciones públicas del País Vasco.

Europeanization of International Development Cooperation Policy

Europeanization of International Development Cooperation Policy