Foreign Aid

The following is a Japanese translation of an exchange between the American physician and anthropologist Paul Farmer and journalist Laurie Garrett over Garrettʼs “The Challenge of Global Health”, an article that appeared in the January/February issues of Foreign Affair.　In it Farmer points out that although many of the criticisms Garrett lays at the feet of recent resurgence in what she describes “stovepipe” funds -- funds earmarked for specific disease, particularly AIDS - in failing to promote general healthcare in the worldʼs poorest countries are justified, his own experience with Partners in Health (of which he is a co-founder) in practicing social medicine at the grassroots in Haiti, Rwanda, and other places demonstrate the possibility of utilizing these very “stovepipe”, vertical funds for “horizontal”, more comprehensive healthcare.　In order to actualize such a universal healthcare, which views health as an inalienable human right, he offers a successfully field-tested alternative model of effective social medicine, in which trained healthcare workers distribute medication and work with doctors and nurses to integrate treatment with fulfillment of everyday social needs, such as subsistence and clean environment.　Garrettʼs reply, while acknowledging Farmer as one of the “heroes” in the current struggle for global healthcare, notes that she never questioned the constructive use of funds but the recent resurgence of funds in the billions of dollars “ought to buy better” services.

For this Report, a broad perspective was acquired through qualitative interviews with stakeholders. These individuals outlined many of the vocational needs of the Maldives though mainly in the areas of public policy, administration, capacity to engage in parliamentary processes, knowledge building and critical understandings of actors that influence political life. Importance was placed on the ways in which Islamic values have strengthened democracy and social equality. Maintenance of the uniqueness of the Dhivehi national identity and cultural practice featured prominently in the feedback provided by stakeholders as well as the role of international trends and influences in local political life. There is a strong desire in terms of the need for better governance and increased capacity of those involved directly in politics (e.g. MPs, Ministers) to demonstrate a more thorough understanding of law-making and the policy-making processes. The practical skills offered through a Level 7 Bachelors program in Political Science were also identified as a key area for development. It was noted broadly that the degree would be of significant benefit current and future policy makers, diplomats, teachers, researchers and those from other occupations. The degree had the potential to provide students with the ability to develop skills including writing, policy analysis, media analysis, critique and the ability to synthesize empirical knowledge with policy.

Bangladesh as a developing country has infrastructural problem, lack of skilled personnel and all these are often linked to the shortage of Capital. Hence we have to take financial assistance from external sources i.e foreign government, agencies & multi-lateral institutions. This  paper aims at exploring historical context as well as present condition of foreign aid with its positive & negative side with special reference to Bangladesh.

Die Studie stellt Interorganisations-Netzwerke als Form internationaler Kooperation vor und demonstriert zugleich das Potential der Netzwerkanalyse für das Studium der Internationalen Politik. Als Beispiel dient dabei die Koordination von Entwicklungshilfe für Afrika. Hier belegt Nölkes Arbeit, daß dieses Netzwerk in seiner Koordinationsleistung durch die ausgeprägte Zentralisierung um die Weltbank herum begrenzt wird. Die Ursachen für diese zentrale Stellung der Weltbank werden mit Hilfe organisationstheoretischer Konzepte herausgearbeitet, wobei die Studie zeigt, daß zwischen Internationaler Politik und Verwaltungswissenschaft eine theoretisch fruchtbare synergetische Verbindung hergestellt werden kann.

Trades of money for political influence persist at every level of government. Not surprisingly, governments themselves trade money for political support on the international stage. Strange, however, is the tale of this book. For, in this study, legitimacy stands as the central political commodity at stake. The book investigates the ways governments trade money for favors at the United Nations Security Council - the body endowed with the international legal authority to legitimize the use of armed force to maintain or restore peace. With a wealth of quantitative data, the book shows that powerful countries, such as the United States, Japan, and Germany, extend financial favors to the elected members of the Security Council through direct foreign aid and through international organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In return, developing countries serving on the Security Council must deliver their political support ... or face the consequences.

En un momento de profundos cambios en la agenda internacional del desarrollo, en la geografía del poder y en el mapa de la pobreza y las desigualdades, la política española de cooperación internacional para el desarrollo muestra sus mayores debilidades y síntomas de agotamiento. Como resultado, evidencia serias limitaciones para contribuir a las respuestas colectivas a los problemas del desarrollo, como el cada vez más desafiante problema de la sostenibilidad ambiental, la creciente e intolerable desigualdad global o los hirientes niveles de pobreza, por nombrar sólo algunos de los más evidentes. Se trata de problemas que afectan más intensa y directamente a las poblaciones y colectivos con mayores niveles de desprotección y vulnerabilidad que ponen de manifiesto el fracaso colectivo en el cumplimiento de los Derechos Humanos e imposibilitan la satisfacción de las aspiraciones de justicia global, equidad y cohesión social.

No sólo son problemas de naturaleza ética y política, sino que suponen la mayor amenaza para la humanidad y para el planeta, al tiempo que constituyen el principal desafío para el proyecto de una gobernanza global centrada en la garantía de los derechos de todas las personas del mundo.

La política española de cooperación ―y de manera especial algunas dinámicas generadas en torno a ella― ha constituido un espacio de referencia en el que, con todas sus limitaciones, diferentes actores como las universidades, ONGD y también otras organizaciones de la sociedad civil, movimientos sociales, municipios, comunidades autónomas o empresas de economía social habían generado un canal de participación para afrontar, en ocasiones colectivamente, los mencionados problemas del desarrollo.

En los últimos tiempos este espacio encarnado en la política de cooperación está ofreciendo muestras de un agotamiento sin precedentes. A ello contribuyen razones de tipo estructural que tienen que ver con el propio sistema de cooperación para el desarrollo y su falta de capacidad para dar respuesta a los persistentes y cambiantes problemas globales. Razones que tienen que ver también con la propia naturaleza de las políticas de cooperación, que dado su carácter voluntario, desregulado y discrecional, permite que sigan siendo los donantes los dueños de la toma de decisiones. Contribuye a ese agotamiento también la incapacidad del sistema de cooperación de arrastrar a otras políticas hacia las metas del desarrollo para lograr la tan ansiada coherencia de políticas, o su configuración en clave de relaciones Norte-Sur, cuando el dinamismo y la heterogeneidad en la economía y las relaciones internacionales nos dicen que el mundo, a diferencia de lo que ocurría en épocas anteriores, ya no se explica en esta clave… La literatura sobre cooperación y desarrollo ya ha aportado numerosas explicaciones acerca de las limitaciones de las políticas de cooperación para generar las transformaciones sociales, políticas, económicas y culturales que el desarrollo exige.

Pero al desgaste sin precedentes de la política de cooperación española contribuyen también otro tipo de razones, más pegadas a la coyuntura española, resultado de la actual crisis económica y, especialmente, de la respuesta política ofrecida por el Gobierno español, con el conocido impacto en el conjunto de las políticas sociales y, de manera especial, en la de cooperación. Se ha producido un abrupto (y sin parangón) descenso de los recursos (más del 70% entre 2009 y 2012 de la ayuda oficial al desarrollo española), un debilitamiento político e institucional de los actores y estructuras de cooperación, un deterioro del modelo de participación social y, seguramente en el origen de todo lo anterior, un cambio en la mirada sobre el desarrollo. Entendidos, en tiempos pretéritos, como asuntos globales y, por lo tanto, necesitados de una mirada articuladora de intereses y derechos globales y de un impulso político ante el retraso histórico español en este ámbito, el desarrollo y la cooperación son vistos en la actualidad como un instrumento al servicio de los intereses "nacionales", ya sea a través del ejercicio de vaciado presupuestario ―supuestamente puesto al servicio de otras prioridades en un contexto de "urgencia nacional"― o a través de la instrumentalización de una “política blanda”, como la de cooperación, para ponerla al servicio de intereses y objetivos de la "agenda dura", como serían la promoción de las exportaciones o la internacionalización de las empresas. Parece, pues, que la cooperación española nunca se sintió del todo cómoda con las lentes cosmopolitas y decidió ponerse las gafas del realismo político. Perdió de vista en el camino, como planteara Ulrich Beck, que en un mundo global e interdependiente el único realismo posible es el que asume la mirada cosmopolita y la traslada a la acción colectiva.

Buena parte de las universidades, las ONGD, los movimientos sociales o los municipios que encontraron acomodo en los espacios abiertos por la cooperación española buscan hoy un nuevo referente desde el que, a partir de la acción colectiva, seguir generando las transformaciones para alcanzar esa idea de universalidad en el proyecto de justicia, equidad y cohesión, y además sin comprometer los límites ambientales del planeta. Un espacio que no se configure a partir de una lógica Norte-Sur que hace tiempo que ya no explica este mundo, que huya del internacionalismo desconectado de lo que sucede en nuestros barrios, en nuestros pueblos, ciudades, universidades, instituciones… En definitiva, que ignore que hace ya tiempo que la agenda de desarrollo es una, aunque se construya en diferentes espacios globales y locales a veces sin aparente conexión.

Se trata de un momento de crucial importancia, dada la deriva y la debilidad de esta política que en España había sido el espacio de referencia para muchos de estos actores y de la incapacidad del sistema internacional de ayuda para responder a los problemas del desarrollo. Y son, en este momento, cada vez más las voces que parecen llamar a la generación de un espacio de convergencia social y política para una acción colectiva que reclame para el conjunto de las políticas y los mecanismos de gobernanza la búsqueda de la equidad social, la sostenibilidad ambiental y el cumplimiento de los derechos humanos. Son, cada vez más, las voces que llaman a priorizar la construcción de los espacios de convergencia y dejar atrás la idea del consenso paralizante. Si la política de cooperación no está a la altura que los desafíos exigen para seguir alojando estas aspiraciones, será la propia actuación de los actores sociales y políticos con vocación de transformación la que acabe por desbordarla.

During the last two decades there has been an intense debate over the efficacy and efficiency of international aid. The debate has focused on the performance of beneficiary countries in terms of economic growth. Yet little attention has been paid to the role of aid on income distribution within receiving countries, despite the fact that reducing inequality is an explicit aim of international aid. In this paper, we analyse the role of aid in the evolution of income distribution over the last two decades for 18 Latin American countries. While Latin America is the most unequal region of the world, it includes some of the countries currently leading the reduction of inequality at the global level. The region is also currently losing a significant amount of aid disbursements. The main findings of our work, once we have controlled for several relevant variables, is that there has been is a significant effect of international aid on reducing income inequality in Latin America.

The belief in occult forces is still deeply rooted in many African societies, regardless of education, religion, and social class of the people concerned. According to many Africans its incidence is even increasing due to social stress and strain caused (among others) by the process of modernization. Most often magic and witchcraft accusations work to the disadvantage of the poor and deprived, but under particular circumstances they become a means of the poor in the struggle against oppression by establishing "cults of counter-violence". Magic and witchcraft beliefs have increasingly been instrumentalized for political purposes. Apparently they lend itself to support any kind of political system, whether despotic or democratic. The belief in occult forces has serious implications for development co-operation, too. Firstly, because projects, constituting arenas of strategic groups in their struggle for power and control over project resources, are likely to add further social stress to an already endangered precarious balance of power, which makes witchcraft accusations flourish. And secondly, because witchcraft accusations may serve as indicators of hidden social conflicts, difficult to detect by other methods.

The level of activism in Turkey's foreign policy has reached unprecedented levels during the country's modern history. This increased activism contrasts starkly with Turkey's characteristically traditional status quo orientation evinced during the Cold War. This study aims to establish a theoretical foundation to explain this multifaceted change in Turkish foreign policy. In doing so, it contends that the ‘two-good’ theory of foreign policy renders considerable analytical leverage for contextualizing recent changes in Turkish foreign policy. The theory posits that change in a country's foreign policy is contingent upon its willingness and capability to actively promote its interests. Furthermore, the ‘two-good’ theory postulates the method a country might employ to implement its foreign policy is a function of these two factors as well. The theory leads to two testable hypotheses regarding Turkish foreign policy. This study supports these hypotheses with qualitative and quantitative evidence.

If the USG wants to better align its programming with its proposed reforms, it must do more to appreciate the Haitian context. That means not only creating a strategy based on a Haitian framework, but also removing policies that contradict current aid efforts. In order to achieve sustainable economic development, Haiti will need to continue making investments in its agricultural infrastructure and productivity. That will require not only financial support, but also the commitment of the USG to end its exploitation of Haiti as an inexpensive supplier of textiles. Haiti can thrive as a net exporter of agricultural commodities, only if the United States decides to embrace the strengths of its island neighbor.

The concept of globalization has become ubiquitous in social science and in the public consciousness and is often invoked as an explanation for a diverse range of changes to economies, societies, politics and cultures - both as a positive liberating force and as a wholly negative one. Whilst our understanding of the politics, economics, and social resonance of the phenomenon has become increasingly sophisticated at the macro-level, this book argues that globalization too often continues to be depicted as a set of extra-terrestrial forces with no real physical manifestation, except as effects.

The essays challenge this dominant understanding of 'globalization from above' through explorations of the mundane means by which globalization has been achieved. Instead of a focus on the meta-political economy of global capitalism, the book concentrates on the everyday life of capitalism, the not-so-'little' things that keep the 'large' forces of globalization ticking over. With its eye on the mundane, the book demonstrates that a series of everyday and, consequently, all but invisible formations critically facilitate and create the conditions under which globalization has flourished. The emphasis is on concrete moments in the history of capitalism when these new means of regular reproduction were invented and deployed. Only by understanding these infrastructures can we understand the dynamics of globalization.

In short, punchy essays by distinguished researchers from across a range of disciplines, this book provides a new way of understanding globalization, moving away from the standard accounts of global forces, economic flows, and capitalist dynamics, to show how ordinary practices and artefacts are crucial elements and symbols of globalization.