In the year 2000 the UN set eight ambitious millennium development goals which shall be reached through a profound development policy until 2015. Among others, the number of people living in poverty should be reduced by 50% and diseases like AIDS or Malaria be stopped. Affluent countries ought to give at least 0.7% of their GDP to poor countries. But this figure has not been achieved by now even approximately. Only a handful of countries give more than this percentage. The average country effort lies at 0.46%, in which the Nordic countries top the set mark (OECD 2007).
Development cooperation is indeed an important part in foreign policy of states. Many of the industrialized states have established special ministries for development cooperation or affiliated a likewise branch to their foreign ministries. Additionally, big donor countries often maintain their own national aid agencies.
Development aid is given in the form of economic, political or social support to developing countries – either in a bilateral (direct) way or multilateral through international organizations like the UN. Measures (financial aid, technical aid or in the form of consultancy and training) comprise as distinct fields as governance and human rights, economics, health care, environment, education or disaster management.
Introduction
In the year 2000 the UN set eight ambitious millennium development goals which shall be reached through a profound development policy until 2015. Among others, the number of people living in poverty should be reduced by 50% and diseases like AIDS or Malaria be stopped. Affluent countries ought to give at least 0.7% of their GDP to poor countries. But this figure has not been achieved by now even approximately. Only a handful of countries give more than this percentage. The average country effort lies at 0.46%, in which the Nordic countries top the set mark (OECD 2007).
Development cooperation is indeed an important part in foreign policy of states. Many of the industrialized states have established special ministries for development cooperation or affiliated a likewise branch to their foreign ministries. Additionally, big donor countries often maintain their own national aid agencies.
Development aid is given in the form of economic, political or social support to developing countries – either in a bilateral (direct) way or multilateral through international organizations like the UN. Measures (financial aid, technical aid or in the form of consultancy and training) comprise as distinct fields as governance and human rights, economics, health care, environment, education or disaster management.
But why do states in general give to poor countries? There are various reasons behind it. I would like to highlight some of them: political reasons, economic and egoistic ones and last but not least, a social motive. I want to illustrate the reasons that cause states to give by some means or other. In the first instance, I concentrate on bilateral development aid from state to state, but with regard to the social aspects I will rather draw upon multilateral aid.
Argumentation
Political reasons
The category “political reasons” holds diverse subdivisions. I will outline some of them.
Former Colonies
After the former colonies declared their independence, lots of them were left in poverty or just exploited by their imperialist “bosses”. That is why there are some of the former rulers (especially those which had many colonies like France and Great Britain) that largely consider their past colonies (see Alesina and Dollar 2000, p. 42 and p. 45f). This type of development aid may be also seen as a kind of compensation for “mistakes” in the sense of the exploitation and oppression committed in the past and the undesirable developments resulting out of it.
Avoiding Conflicts
Aid is also aimed at helping to prevent political crises and the spread of already existing conflicts. It is important to avoid a jumping over of the spark of a conflict to countries which are weak in terms of a government and an unstable political/economic situation. One clear example is Tajikistan, which is neighbouring the conflict hot spot Afghanistan. There are more than 2.000 IGOs and NGOs trying to improve the country’s situation in different ways. Additionally, Andersen argues that economic welfare and political stability help to prevent the extension of terrorism (see Andersen 2005, p. 54).
The issue of migration stresses a lot of wealthy countries, look at the immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa who ground on European shores by hundreds to find a better future there. To mitigate and to combat this refugee challenge in its roots states support the countries of origin (see Andersen 2005, p. 54 / 2006, p.90).
Strengthening of Democracy
One means to contain the spread of conflicts is to further democracy in the way of implementing democratic principles or constitutional legality. In the area of human rights this means e.g. to establish minimum standards which have to be complied with by these countries. Western democracies aim at gradual but lasting structural changes. The promotion of democracy is pursued on a large scale by the big democracies, in the first place by the US and the UK who have after all a high interest in protecting and guaranteeing security to their own countries (see Alesina and Dollar 2000, p.49).
Economic interests
In particular, industrialized countries of the northern hemisphere are very dependent on the delivery of primary energy. They have to bear in mind an assured and smooth supply of natural resources which are needed for the domestic industrial production as well as for the provisioning of their citizens (see Andersen 2005, p. 55). Since there is a founded interest in the need for a stable situation in states which carry a large stock of important raw materials like oil or gas, development assistance is given on that account.
Furthermore, developed countries have a substantial interest in the growth of their own markets as well as in the reduction of the figure of unemployment. This implies that development aid is given with special requirements – granted if the supported country e.g. buys on the donor country’s market (Andersen 2005, p. 55). Additionally, there are strategic countries in highly developing regions like East Asia, which offer important export sales markets for the manufactured goods of the industrialized Western countries (see Andersen 2006, p.90). This last aspect has a strong link to the motive “egoism”. Donor countries aid rather for the benefit of their own gains than for the benefit of the recipient countries’ gains, because “self-interest is protecting free trade and domestic economy” (Marijke Breuning 1995, p. 239).
Egoism
Often states act in their pure own interest in order to move or constrain countries to certain actions or equivalents, which in turn are aimed to the favour of their domestic policy. Words politicians give are often very different from real actions. Actions are often “driven by donor states’ self-interest” (Breuning 1995, p. 235). If we look at the US it becomes very clear in the example of the need for support for the war against terrorism. The US’ objective is a so called build-up of a rampart against terror. The amount of development assistance very strongly depends on the willingness of a certain country to cooperate for the purposes of the USA. If the particular country doesn’t follow the US’ wishes, it will be hindered by sanctions and other punishment means. This aspect plays an especially important role concerning the region of the Arab world, where “the United State’s pattern of aid giving is vastly influenced by that country’s interest in the Middle East.” (Alesina and Dollar 2000, p.34).
Furthermore, development assistance often is combined with demands for keeping a country’s influence in the region or even enlarging it. According to Palmer, Wohlander and Morgan, all states have more or less the change of the system or – depending on the situation – the status quo in mind, in order to arrange the world suitable to their own preferences and interests (2002, p. 9). In the first instance, states give with the ulterior motive of changing or maintaining the status quo for the benefit of their own interests in mind: “Development assistance […] is designed to encourage recipient nations to adopt policies favored by donor states” (Palmer, Wohlander and Morgan 2002, p. 12).
Social aspects
Social reasons play an important role in regions, where people suffer existential hardships. There is still a very big gap regarding wealth and prosperity between rich and poor countries which has to be flattened. Most notably, in Africa, where millions of people don’t have enough to eat or access to clean drinking water, governmental organisations like the German DED or GTZ help to relieve the suffering where it is absolutely thoroughgoing. This caring aspect of assistance is seen as an international redistribution and social policy (Andersen 2006, p. 55).
But as a rule, governmental aid is rather aiming at long term and structural changes. Emergency relief and short term humanitarian aid after catastrophes e.g. is usually given by international NGOs like the German Agro Action or international institutions like the UN or the Worldbank. The latter ones are put in charge by a community of states, which contribute indirectly. From Masud’s and Yontcheva’s point of view NGOs address themselves to other fields than bilateral donors. As illustrated above in the egoistic aspect governments pursue more or less quite selfish objectives whereas NGOs rather comply with altruistic goals. NGOs are more effective with regard to alleviating humanitarian hardships like the reducing of infant mortality (Masud and Yontcheva 2005, p. 9, p. 20).
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- Natalie Züfle (Author), 2007, Development Aid, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/180081
