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This article describes how aid‐influence mechanisms previously identified by academic literature (aid conditionality, tied aid, consultants, people‐to‐people exchanges and the support of like‐minded donors) are triggered in a selection of six aid projects implemented by Spain and Germany and involving the EU in Senegal, in the domains of gender equity and migration control. Aid‐influence nexuses might prove ineffective if there is a lack of political will on the part of the partner, an insufficient involvement of its Administration or local actors, a mis‐selection of people involved in the aid‐influence link, or if the scale of the project is too small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite considerable debate on the normative foundations of Chinese international development cooperation and how they compare with those of traditional donors,positivist studies on the normative consequences of China's socialization into mainstream international norms of development assistance are scarce. This article explores this topic for the case of Ethiopia, an aid 'darling' with an extended presence of Chinese and Western development actors, taking the Aid Effectiveness Agenda as reference. Resorting to official documents, data analysis, and semi-structured interviews, the authors find that Chinese development actors' understanding of ownership and transparency is relatively stable and different from that of Western donors and that they promote their own understanding of those principles among Ethiopian stakeholders. There are, however, significant changes in inclusive partnerships and the focus on results, that have more to do with a pragmatic adaptation process by Chinese actors than with a socialization process through their interaction with traditional donors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing perception that arguments favouring security are gaining ground in the aid narrative and that aid allocation is changing accordingly. This work explores the extent and features of such shifts in the particular case of the EU. We observe the evolution of development paradigms (social development, sustainable development and security) and aid motives (solidarity, common interests and self-interest) in the aid discourse. This is done by means of content analysis of strategic aid documents of a selection of European donors (the EU institutions, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, France, Sweden and Spain). We then explore the eventual shift in the aid budgets of those same donors. In line with previous work on EU aid securitisation, we find evidence of securitisation in both narratives and aid flows. However, this trend is far from homogeneous, showing the complexity and diversity within the Union. There is practically no evidence of securitisation in the EU institutions, Spain or Sweden. We find mixed evidence for the Netherlands, Germany and France (where narratives and flow changes towards securitisation do not necessarily match) and, finally, a significant shift in the UK, where aid narratives and aid flows have been significantly securitised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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According to different media and analysts, globalization could be in a phase of 'slowbalization', de-globalization or even secular stagnation. After surveying academic proposals for defining, classifying and measuring globalization, by means of the Elcano Global Presence Index, this paper explores to what extent globalization has stagnated and/or whether it has changed its nature. Our results show that globalization has slowed down, but not retrenched. However, economic globalization has lost traction (something that probably explains the general perception on de-globalization) while soft projection has become the main driver of globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 31 January 2020 the UK formally withdrew from the EU, with disengagement to become effective after a period of transition and uncertainty, aggravated by a global health crisis. By analysing the shifting profile of British aid since the Brexit vote and also the terms of the withdrawal, this article intends to shed light on its future course. Building on previous research, three scenarios on post-Brexit aid are considered in section 1: the nationalist; the realist; and the cosmopolitan. Considering the most recent changes in the UK's aid budgets and policy papers, it can be concluded that the country has a realist approach to development cooperation (see section 2). Finally, the paper assesses the impact these changes will be likely to have on European and global aid, ceteris paribus (section 3). Our data show that the UK's volume of aid has remained stable since the Brexit vote in 2016. This has come hand in hand with a shifting pattern of aid allocation: aid provided for health research programmes in the UK, companies and universities has increased, while aid directed at LDCs and DFID programmes has decreased. Our main argument is that the changes match a realist scenario, rather than a cosmopolitan or even a nationalist approach, which would result in decreasing aid and weaker links with partner countries. As a result, and despite the UK's new allocation pattern to countries, sectors and channels, there should be no major impact on aid at the European and global levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lack of coordination among donors poses several problems: it results in higher administrative costs for both donors and partner countries and weakens aid effectiveness. This rationale is the basis for the OECD and EU political agendas on harmonization and coordination, which has resulted in different coordination initiatives at both headquarters and field levels. However, despite the political agenda, recent studies show that for many donors and partner countries aid fragmentation has prevailed or even increased.By means of a country case study in Morocco, this document explores the obstacles to aid coordination in a specific EU development partner country. Coordination initiatives may have proliferated but not necessarily triggered results in terms of joint work or donors’ specialization. The main obstacles to coordination include varied administrative procedures; diverse administrative architectures; resistance from local authorities and also from leading donors (to abandon or share flagship aid programmes). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Development Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article analyses the motives behind the relations between Spain as a donor and Vietnam as a recipient of international aid. The main hypothesis is that this relationship does not respond to the traditional causes for international aid, as identified by the academic literature. On the basis of qualitative data collected in interviews with elites, the article suggests instead that a 'learning factor' and an 'image factor' might be at play in the Spanish presence, as well as herd behaviour on the part of the donor community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]