South-South Development Cooperation Research Articles

Active non-alignment: Brazil and the measurement of South-South Development Cooperation

Measuring South-South cooperation (SSC) has gained policy and political salience in International Development Cooperation (IDC) debates in recent decades. This article applies the concept of active non-alignment to analyze the efforts of “southern providers”, such as Brazil, for autonomous, differentiated, and proactive engagement in the measurement debate, as well as in the field of international development more broadly. The article combines analyses of foreign policy and public policy and traces the evolution, since 2010, of the international debate and the Brazilian response – diplomatic, institutional, and non-governmental – to the growing “duty of measuring” the flows and impact of its SSC. Far from being purely a technical issue, the reconstruction of processes and negotiations surrounding the creation of measurement instruments and practices to count and account for Brazilian SSC contribute to illustrating political, geopolitical, and (inter)bureaucratic disputes in the production of transnational public policies, such as Brazil’s IDC.

Regionalizing Development Cooperation?

Abstract This article investigates Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-level development cooperation, a relatively overlooked dimension in assessing regionalism in Southeast Asia, by examining the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI). The IAI provides a unique case of experimenting with multilateral South-South development cooperation based on regional solidarity; however, despite the declared aspirations and commitments to the program, this article finds that the IAI’s actual development has been quite contrary to the declared goals. First, unlike what was expected, IAI has not been able to provide institutional benefits to help pool ASEAN-6’s resources regionally and coordinate their development programs. Second, the principle of solidarity made the IAI valuable, but it did not stand out in its actions. Third, although its primary goal was to narrow the gap among members, IAI ironically created unwanted diplomatic divide and discontent. The observations confirm a perspective that constructing ASEAN as a regional community is both driven and constrained by member states’ nationalistic priorities.

New Donors, New Goals? Altruism, Self-Interest, and Domestic Political Support in Development Cooperation in Latin America

ABSTRACTThe literature on aid allocation shows that many factors influence donors’ decision to provide aid. However, our knowledge about foreign aid allocation is based on traditional foreign aid, from developed to developing countries, and many assumptions of these theories do not hold when applied to southern donors. This article argues that south-south development cooperation (SSDC) can be explained by the strength of development cooperation’s domestic allies and foes. Specifically, it identifies civil society organizations as allies of SSDC and nationalist groups as opponents of SSDC. By using for the first time data on SSDC activities in Latin America, this article shows the predictive strength of a liberal domestic politics approach in comparison to the predictive power of alternative explanations. The results speak to scholars of both traditional foreign aid and south-south development cooperation in highlighting the limits of traditional theories of foreign aid motivations.

The Chinese South-South development cooperation: an assessment of its structural transformation

This paper aims to analyze the Chinese cooperation with developing countries, its purposes, shapes and intentions in order to explore the peculiar characteristics of Chinese SSC. This work seeks to analyze whether the cooperation carried out by China with countries of the Global South fits the principles of South-South cooperation and if and how China is modifying the international aid regime.

East Asian Technical Cooperation Initiatives in Central America: A Comparative Analysis of Japan and South Korea in Guatemala

Abstract This article describes the similarities and differences of Japanese and South Korean technical cooperation approaches in Guatemala. The literature review illustrates the transition from an initially donor-centric results chain approach towards one that is increasingly recipient-balanced due to new cooperation principles such as horizontality and demand-drivenness. Such approaches are mainly fostered by the rise of new emerging donors on the international development cooperation horizon, such as the advocates of South-South Development Cooperation (SSDC). An analysis based on a framework by the Network of Southern Think Tanks (NeST) concludes that Japanese and Korean technical cooperation approaches are markedly similar, most notably in regard to officially proclaimed technical cooperation standards and commitments. Differences result from the degree of related implementation: Japan achieves higher results based on relative deficiencies in reporting by Korea as well as comparatively shorter bilateral Korean-Guatemalan relations. Similarities are fostered by analogous institutional and project related structures, stemming from an argued learning and simulation approach by Korea from the long-standing experiences of Japan. Lastly, it is argued that the growing assimilation of the traditional and the SSDC concept, as well as the increasing engagement of both countries in triangular cooperation contribute to the identified similarities.

G20 rising powers’ status seeking through social creativity: The case of South-South development cooperation

ABSTRACT This study aims to explore how rising powers who are also donors within the G20 strive to achieve a positively distinctive identity in the field of development cooperation through status-seeking strategies. The article employs Social Identity Theory (SIT) to critically examine and understand the increasing importance of South-South cooperation in the foreign policies of the nine selected G20 rising donors (namely China, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey, Mexico, India and Argentina). For this purpose, it will first explain why status matters for rising powers. Second, it will present the linkage between status-seeking policies of states and state identity. Third, it exposes social creativity as a driver of state behaviour. And fourth, it focuses on G20 rising powers’ quest for status through social creativity with a particular focus on South-South development cooperation.

Development cooperation and post-colonial critique: an investigation into the South Korean model

With the rise of the South–South Development Cooperation (SSDC), the international development community has entered into a new paradigm of development cooperation. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) has had to consider what recently added members might have to offer, particularly South Korea given its dramatic transformation from official development assistance (ODA) recipient to donor. Post-colonial theory sees ODA as a system that reinforces the traditional hierarchy of North–South relations and reaffirms the hegemony of dominant countries; the SSDC has faced similar neo-colonial allegations. By employing post-colonial theory this paper investigates some neo-­colonial criticisms of the ODA activities of major OECD-DAC and SSDC providers, before turning its focus on those of South Korea to determine whether it does indeed offer an alternative strategy to development. The African region was chosen as the focus in light of the increased amount of aid South Korea has allocated to the region. This paper concludes by offering a different role South Korea might play engaging within the OECD-DAC/SSDC context.

Analysing South-South Capacity Building. Comparing Six Flagship Projects of Brazil, India and China in Mozambique

While South-South Development Cooperation (SSDC) is claimed to unlock domestically sourced expertise of countries of the Global South to address development challenges in countries with similar political economic and social conditions, not much is known about the capacity building approaches used. This article analyses and compares the capacity building strategies of three of the main protagonists of SSDC, India, Brazil and the PR China. A critical case study approach is used in which six flagship projects in the health sector in Mozambique are examined. The findings show that despite a common focus on domestic experiences, peer-to-peer interaction and a hands-on approach, Brazil's institutional capacity building strategy contrasts with the more staff and organizational strengthening of the PR China and India. Moreover, the article nuances the claimed achievements of the approaches and proposes to look at the acknowledgement of contextual differences and the extent to which the cooperation is driven by demand and proper needs assessment as explanatory factors.

What Can South-South Development Cooperation Do for International Peace? Brazil’s Role in Haiti and Guinea-Bissau

AbstractUntil it began waning due to economic crisis and political turmoil on the domestic front, in Brazil’s rapidly expanding South-South development, cooperation often has been promoted by government officials as contributing to stability and prosperity in partner states. It is unclear, however, how this development cooperation intersects with the country’s involvement inunpeace operations. This article examines the role of Brazilian South-South technical cooperation across two contexts. In Haiti, Brazil has led the military component of theminustah, whereas in Guinea-Bissau, it has helped to spearhead peacebuilding efforts by the international community. In both cases, Brazil has tried to substantiate its critique of theun’s securitization by providing technical cooperation across a variety of sectors. The analysis shows that this cooperation is too fragmented, subject to interruptions, and disconnected fromun-led efforts to make a considerable contribution to a sustainable peace. However, better internal coordination and stronger ties touninitiatives could boost the contribution of Brazil’s Brazilian South-South development cooperation to a lasting peace.

India-Africa Forum Summits and Capacity Building

This study attempts to assess the perceptible or real impacts of the pledges made at the high level India-Africa Forum Summits towards building human capabilities, in recipient countries in Africa. Ensconced within the theoretical frameworks of South-South Cooperation and South-South Development Cooperation, this study affirms that international cooperation between India and Africa goes beyond aid. It includes inter alia, the sharing of development experiences for building human and physical infrastructural capabilities in Africa. Training programmes and the implementation of capacity building institutions are being set up, based on requests from partner countries. Evidently there has been a mixed response to these endeavours. This study analyses the causes for the time lapse between the commitments made at the first two editions of the forum summits and the delayed implementation of the capacity building initiatives on the ground. The tardy implementation of mutually agreed upon projects obfuscates the agenda of development cooperation between India and Africa. The ongoing stock taking and proactive efforts by India and recipient countries in Africa towards completing the long pending institutions and schemes will further enhance the efficacy and credibility of South-South Development Cooperation between India and Africa.

Directions in a Post-aid World? South–South Development Cooperation and CSOs in Latin America

The architecture of international aid to developing and emerging economies is undergoing significant change. Post-aid world conditions will reshape relationships between international aid actors including donors, civil society organizations (CSOs), governments, and other institutions. These trends draw attention to South–South Development Cooperation (SSDC) as a promising direction in regions like Latin America. CSOs’ participation in SSDC might challenge and divert the dependency and power asymmetries in traditional North–South aid. As potential adaptive strategy for CSOs, SSDC diversifies the actors involved in aid and the resources exchanged, and produces different development discourses. The article outlines SSDC as an alternative development model and specifically considers the participation of CSOs. It provides a case of CSOs’ participation in SSDC in the region of Latin America. As research on CSOs in SSDC is limited, the article contributes to its further understanding and provides further avenues of research.

The Evolution of South-South Development Cooperation: Guiding Principles and Approaches

South-South Cooperation (SSC) has attracted the attention of the development community in terms of both its ‘impact’ on traditional aid and the integration of its values into the work of multilateral institutions, making it the new ‘buzzword’ of the aid community. However, few studies have been carried out to understand the rationale of SSC and how it influences the approaches followed in its development assistance activities or ‘South-South Development Cooperation’ (SSDC). Therefore, this article explores the origins and development of the SSC concept from the perspectives of southern countries and shows how they affect the narrative related to the implementation model of SSDC. The research uses a narrative literature review focusing on southern countries’ understandings of both SSC and SSDC, thus enabling two sets of categorization: one for the conceptual elements in the definition of SSC outside its geographical component and the other for the guiding principles and approaches of SSDC.

Brazil’s Soft-Power Strategy: The Political Aspirations of South–South Development Cooperation

By trading upon the principles of South-South cooperation, Brazil is widely viewed as having gained a positive image worldwide. Brazil’s South-South development cooperation was one of the foreign policy instruments it used to raise this profile. However, studies of the generation of soft power are still lacking in the international relations literature, and where empirical research exists it focuses more on the results of soft power strategies than on how soft power is created. Therefore, this article explores how Brazil’s soft power strategy is conceptualized in Brazil’s development cooperation discourse and how it is operationalized through South-South development activities. This research uses a triangulation method combining the analysis of official documents, academic studies and interviews to conclude that the Brazilian government under President Lula (2003-2011) influenced the organization of its cooperation agency and guided it towards sectors and targets that contribute to the creation of positive outcomes. This article contributes to the debate on the state’s behavior in soft power, that is, the ‘behavior’ of the Brazilian government in the design of its cooperation agency’s activities, thus also contributing to knowledge about the relationship between an agent’s behavior and the outcomes of a country’s policy of ‘soft empowerment’.

COOPERAÇÃO SUL-SUL EM EDUCAÇÃO E RELAÇÕES BRASIL-PALOP

Estudos sobre a cooperação internacional para o desenvolvimento (principalmente nas suas vertentes Norte-Sul e Sul-Sul) têm demonstrado que existem tipos distintos de experiências históricas que mobilizam diferentes atores domésticos e priorizam agendas temáticas com base em motivações políticas e desenhos institucionais variados. Este artigo centra-se nas estratégias do Brasil como fornecedor de cooperação no campo da educação, analisando suas tendências gerais, agendas e atores, contradições e tensões entre interesses públicos e privados. Empiricamente, o artigo também analisa essas questões a partir da atuação brasileira nos Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa (PALOP), com foco no caso de Moçambique e considerando as percepções dos países com os quais o governo brasileiro coopera.

Human Rights and South-South Development Cooperation: Reflections on the “Rising Powers” as International Development Actors

The era of Western-dominated international foreign aid, development norms, and institutions is far from dead, but it is starting to rupture. Key to this is the growing visibility, assertiveness, and impact of a wide range of (re) emerging donors and development partners. Foreign aid and development assistance have long been prime sites in the negotiation and projection of human rights internationally, but this has overwhelmingly centered on the Western-dominated development community as the driver of dominant ideologies, practices, and funding. This article concerns the potential roles and impacts of Southern states on human rights in their roles as donors and development partners.

Brazil's South-South Development Cooperation: Principles and Experiences of the Domestic Bureaucracy

Brazil's South-South Development Cooperation: Principles and Experiences of the Domestic Bureaucracy

China's educational cooperation with Africa: toward new strategic partnerships

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine China-Africa educational cooperation under the framework of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) while illustrating the modalities of Sino-Africa educational cooperation. Design/methodology/approach – Based on empirical and documentary analysis, the paper describes and explores the unique features of China-Africa educational cooperation. Findings – In the past decades, China's expanding engagement with Africa in the field of international development assistance has attracted great attention and given rise to mixed reactions and arguments at the international level. China's cooperation with Africa has a long and notable history, dating back to the 1950s. China's cooperation with other developing countries is known as South-South development cooperation, based on principles of equality, mutual benefit, solidarity and no conditionality. With a thorough and critical analysis of the decision-making mechanism and the practices of China's educational cooperation with Africa, this paper puts forward some important issues regarding the perspective of sustainability and effectiveness in Chinese cooperative arrangements. Research limitations/implications – The paper tries to explain the dynamic and the practices of China's education engagement with Africa and puts forward key challenges regarding its effectiveness toward new strategic partnerships. However, the answers to these questions require some innovative measures in the future practices of China-Africa educational cooperation. Originality/value – The China-Africa education partnership is not a stand-alone sector, which can be better understood in the context of the historical development of China-Africa cooperation and under the framework of the FOCAC.

South-South Cooperation

Purpose– India is described as an emerging donor. Actually India has started providing development assistance to developing countries immediately after independence. The amount of aid was relatively small, but grew over the years to a recognisable size. The purpose of this paper is to review the long experience of India in the framework of development assistance which is laid in the foundational principles of South-South Development Cooperation (SSDC).Design/methodology/approach– Based on secondary data, the paper provides an exhaustive account of India's programme of development assistance, and a critical discussion of issues involved.Findings– The analysis shows that given certain unique features of its aid programme, India has a great potential to emerge as a major donor country, and even to rank among big traditional donor countries. It can also influence the global aid architecture. There are many lessons that others can learn from the “Indian model of aid”. However, there are certain problems and challenges that India has to address for it to become a major international player in the aid business. One of the most important problems refers to the absence of detailed information.Research limitations/implications– The available details on India's assistance are sketchy and confusing; there are no detailed and consolidated statements of assistance; and it is only now a proper formal agency to coordinate all external assistance and to provide effective management in a cohesive manner has been set up.Originality/value– The analytical and critical account of India's aid programme presented here is hoped to provide valuable fresh insights to the whole issue and should be of considerable academic and policy value.

Brazil’s Generous Diplomacy: Friendly Dragon or Paper Tiger?

Featuring a stable democracy and dizzying economic growth, Brazil is fast on the way to acquiring global power status. The country is investing in enhanced multilateral and bilateral relationships as a means of leveraging trade and reducing vulnerability abroad and on the domestic front. This chapter demonstrates how Brazil has increasingly aligned its foreign policy with a ‘South–South Cooperation’ (SSC) agenda as a means of achieving these parallel objectives. But while Brazil’s trade activities have received attention, there has been comparatively less focus on the country’s aid policy and practice. Moreover, there is surprisingly little discussion of how the country’s foreign policy pillars – trade and aid – are explicitly linked. The chapter demonstrates how Brazil’s emerging aid agenda is fundamentally informed by trade considerations. Over the past decade Brazil has positioned its foreign policy agenda in such a way as to re-shape the global terms of trade in its favour and decrease its dependency both internationally and domestically. Brazil’s relatively modest development aid allocations are amplified by a wider effort to advance trade, foreign direct investment and technology transfer. Brazil seeks to expand to new markets for its products, services and investment, it anticipates that its South–South Development Cooperation (SSDC) stance will facilitate the extension of its influence in bilateral and multilateral arrangements, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Security Council.

More Actors, More Money, More Ideas for International Development Co-operation

This article introduces the official providers of developing co-operation from beyond the membership of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee. In Section 2, it provides an overview of their volumes of development co-operation and key features, distinguishing between ‘emerging donors’, ‘providers of South-South Development Co-operation’ and ‘Arab donors’. Section 3 offers insights into the opportunities and risks brought by their growing presence in developing countries. Section 4 examines their impact on the international development co-operation system, which is under increasing pressure to become more inclusive. The concluding section takes an optimistic look at the growing opportunities for mutual learning and collaboration between all providers of development co-operation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.