scholarly journals Trilateral Cooperation: China’s and the EU’s Foreign Assistance in Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Kaze Armel
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Aid Effectiveness ◽  
Foreign Assistance ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
Economic Assistance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Development Capacity ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Aid Programs

Over the years, China has forged and mastered its own distinctive foreign aid practices as an emerging aid donor. China’s approach to foreign assistance has become highly appreciated as the country’s stature as a provider of economic assistance has matured. In 2013, under President Xi Jinping, Beijing introduced the Belt and Road Initiative, which has become a leading component of China’s foreign policy and triggered a new round of policy reform in its foreign aid agenda. In Africa, China’s foreign assistance has kept in line with the policy of equal treatment. It has shared its development experience, helped many African countries to transition from “poor” to “developing”, from “aid recipients” to “wealth creators,” and many African countries are thus turning their interests from the West to the East. Certainly, the European Union as a traditional aid donor, remains the largest aid distributor in the world, especially in Africa. In other words, the EU’s foreign assistance has become an indispensable source of funding for many African countries. However, foreign aid effectiveness remains low on the African continent because of the absence of native African policymakers in aid programs designed and implemented by Beijing and Brussels. Some critics argue that Chinese and European assistance to Africa is not bringing about the best results as expected. This article argues that a new international architecture of foreign assistance through trilateral cooperation is needed to increase Chinese and European aid effectiveness in Africa. Trilateral cooperation will not only increase foreign assistance efficiency in Africa, but also give a chance to African countries to strengthen their own development capacity through assistance and guidance, reduce Africa’s aid dependence, and hopefully guarantee a smooth “graduation” of African countries from official development assistance.

Academic Analysis and U.S. Economic Assistance Policy on Africa

1990 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-37
Author(s):  
Michael Bratton
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Aid ◽  
International Development ◽  
Policy Issue ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Economic Assistance ◽  
Agency For International Development ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Aid Programs ◽  
Institutional Linkages ◽  
The U.S

Of all the policy issue areas that concern the U.S. government in its relations with Africa, economic assistance policy has attracted the deepest and widest involvement from U.S. university scholars. University-based analysts have enjoyed numerous avenues of access to officials who define, design, implement and evaluate U.S. foreign aid programs for sub-Saharan Africa. U.S. universities have stronger institutional linkages with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) than with any other Washington institution discussed in this ISSUE, including the U.S. Congress and agencies within the the national security bureaucracy.

scholarly journals The EU as an emerging coordinator in development cooperation: perspectives from sub-Saharan Africa

Afrika Focus ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Delputte
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Aid Effectiveness ◽  
Development Cooperation ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
The European Union ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Eu

This report presents the proceedings of the eld research conducted in the framework of a doctoral research on the European Union (EU) as an emerging coordinator in development cooperation. This research aims to seek in-depth and interpreted understanding of the paradox between the EU’s ambitions on the one hand and practice on the ground on the other by investigating the EU’s role in four sub-Saharan African countries (Tanzania, Zambia, Burkina Faso and Senegal). As such, it aims to add empirical evidence to the debate on the role of the EU as a development actor. More specifically, it investigates how the ambitions of the EU are translated at country level and in which situations the EU is more/less likely to act as a coordinator, making use of a pragmatist research approach. This approach is especially suited to problem-driven research that aims to understand a complex phenomenon. The article introduces the research question and the rationale, gives an overview of the research approach and the methodological considerations and ends with a summary of the research process and the preliminary findings of the eld research. Key words: EU development policy, aid effectiveness, coordination, pragmatism, interview research 

Foreign Aid and the State

Give and Take ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 213-228
Author(s):  
Nitsan Chorev
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
State Capacity ◽  
Aid Effectiveness ◽  
The State ◽  
Local Institutions ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
Aid Programs

This concluding chapter summarizes the book’s main arguments regarding developmental foreign aid in the pharmaceutical field and suggests that similar conclusions apply to other industrial sectors, as well as to other (nonindustrial) sectors of interest to foreign aid, including the provision of services and the distribution of essential commodities. It also identifies a number of contradictions and tensions inherent to developmental foreign aid, including in regard to its effects on the state. First, given that the cases examined in the book confirm the importance of state capacity for foreign aid effectiveness, the chapter takes on the highly contested question of whether foreign aid could contribute to state capacity-building. Second, given the difficulties in increasing state capacity, maybe aid programs could simply bypass the state? The chapter then explains why even developmental foreign aid should not—but also cannot—replace the state. The type of foreign aid that is likely to be effective is not parachuting aid that evades local institutions and actors but, rather, foreign aid that relies on the institutions and actors in place. Finally, the chapter considers the recent wave of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the pharmaceutical sector in East Africa.

scholarly journals Incentives for Conditional Aid Effectiveness

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Candel-Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Donor Country ◽  
Aid Effectiveness ◽  
Time Inconsistency ◽  
Structural Reforms ◽  
Aid Programs ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Recipient Government ◽  
Privately Owned

AbstractCan sanctions against foreign aid donors enhance the credibility of conditional aid policies? If such policies suffer from time inconsistency, the answer is positive. This paper proposes a mechanism to overcome the lack of credibility of conditional aid donations to developing countries. A scheme of policy-dependent transfers to the donor country is shown to achieve an optimal commitment outcome by improving the credibility of conditional aid programs. The scheme is devised to cover situations in which the cost of structural reforms is information privately owned by the recipient government.

Do Donor Motives Matter? Investigating Perceptions of Foreign Aid in the Conflict in Donbas

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 748-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ala’ Alrababa’h ◽  
Rachel Myrick ◽  
Isaac Webb
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Recipient Country ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Civil Conflict ◽  
Foreign Assistance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Russian Government ◽  
Donor States ◽  
The Impact

Abstract How do the perceived motives of donor states shape recipient attitudes toward foreign aid in a conflict zone? This research note evaluates the impact of two frames that characterize the motives of foreign powers involved in a civil conflict in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. These frames portray foreign actors as providing aid either to alleviate suffering during conflict (humanitarian frame) or to increase their power and influence in the recipient country (political influence frame). We demonstrate how framing impacts attitudes toward foreign assistance from the European Union and the Russian government among potential aid recipients in the Donbas. The results show that frames impact support for foreign aid from the European Union but have no effect on views of Russian aid. Counter to conventional expectations, aid provided for geopolitical, strategic reasons may be viewed as a positive, stabilizing force—even more than foreign aid provided for humanitarian reasons.

The Rise of Asian Aid Donors: Recipient-to-Donor Transition and Implications for International Aid Regime

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-80
Author(s):  
David Dole ◽  
Steven Lewis-Workman ◽  
Dennis D. Trinidad ◽  
Xianbin Yao
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
International Aid ◽  
Economic Cooperation ◽  
Aid Effectiveness ◽  
Development Cooperation ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Emerging Donors ◽  
Aid Programs ◽  
Over Time

The aims of this article are twofold. First, from a historical perspective, it examines the recipient-to-donor transition of five Asian aid donors, namely Japan, Korea, China, India, and Thailand. Specifically, it examines the evolution of their foreign aid programs and practices. Second, it analyzes the effects of Asian aid donors on the international aid regime. We argue that the mix of economic and security goals, which motivated Asian donors to develop their initial economic cooperation programs, have persisted over time. This explains why Asian aid donors have allotted a disproportionate share of their assistance to neighboring countries and their use of foreign aid as a key tool of their commercial and diplomatic policies. Moreover, we contend that the rise and experience of Asian aid donors have created a new dynamic to donor–recipient partnerships and development cooperation like new approaches and modalities. Key findings of this study add to the growing literature on emerging donors and aid effectiveness debate.

China’s Economic Impact on Africa

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H. Shinn
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
Trading Partner ◽  
The European Union ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Trade Surplus ◽  
Economic Relationships ◽  
Gulf States ◽  
Belt And Road

China’s economic impact on Africa in the 21st century has been enormous. China became Africa’s largest trading partner in 2009 and has subsequently widened the gap with Africa’s second largest trading partner. China is Africa’s largest bilateral source of loans and an important provider of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)-equivalent aid, although well behind the European Union and the United States. Annual foreign direct investment flows by Chinese companies are growing and are now in the same league as companies from other major investing nations. Increasingly, African leaders are focusing their economic relationships on China and, because of China’s economic success, some of them are also looking to China as an economic and political model. The future in Africa of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the use of the renminbi (RMB) as an international currency are less clear. China’s influence on African economies comes with challenges. China has developed a significant trade surplus with Africa. Although resource-rich African countries have sizable trade surpluses with China, most African countries, especially the resource-poor ones, have trade deficits, some of which are huge. The influx of inexpensive Chinese products is also stifling Africa’s ability to produce similar goods. African governments welcome Chinese loans, which are usually used for infrastructure projects, but there are signs these loans are contributing to a debt problem in an increasing number of countries. Most Chinese aid to Africa consists of the concessionary component of these loans. Small Chinese traders have flocked to Africa, competing head-to-head with African counterparts. This has led to growing antagonism with African market traders, although African consumers welcome the competition. While Western countries collectively are much more important to African economies than is China, Beijing has become the single most important bilateral economic partner in a number of countries and is challenging the United States and Europe for economic leadership across the continent. China’s most significant competition in the coming years may be less from the United States and other Western and Western-affiliated countries such as Japan and more from developing countries such as India, Brazil, the Gulf States, Turkey, and Indonesia.

scholarly journals Development Cooperation in Africa: Creating New Momentum for China-U.S. Relations

2018 ◽  
Vol 04 (04) ◽  
pp. 577-594
Author(s):  
Song Wei
Keyword(s):  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Development Aid ◽  
Aid Effectiveness ◽  
Development Cooperation ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
African Countries ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Aid Programs

As China projects itself as an emerging donor of development aid, its development cooperation with Africa has garnered unprecedented attention from the world. While China is faced with many challenges in aid practices in Africa despite its remarkable achievements over the past decades, both developed countries and African countries set high expectations for China’s potential contribution. Against this backdrop, it is crucial for China to enhance trilateral cooperation with developed donors and share experience with them on how to manage aid programs. Based on successful cooperation in the past, China-U.S.-Africa trilateral cooperation will not only strengthen China-U.S. bilateral ties, but also improve China’s overall aid effectiveness to Africa. In the future, China should initiate more development cooperation programs and work to create a coordinating mechanism with the United States in areas of their common understanding and interests; it should also go beyond traditional means of assistance and try to get involved in the U.S.-led public-private partnership (PPP) projects.

The Central Asian Economies in the Twenty-First Century

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Pomfret
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Kyrgyz Republic ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Asian Economies ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
External Powers

This book analyzes the Central Asian economies of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, from their buffeting by the commodity boom of the early 2000s to its collapse in 2014. The book examines the countries' relations with external powers and the possibilities for development offered by infrastructure projects as well as rail links between China and Europe. The transition of these nations from centrally planned to market-based economic systems was essentially complete by the early 2000s, when the region experienced a massive increase in world prices for energy and mineral exports. This raised incomes in the main oil and gas exporters, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan; brought more benefits to the most populous country, Uzbekistan; and left the poorest countries, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan, dependent on remittances from migrant workers in oil-rich Russia and Kazakhstan. The book considers the enhanced role of the Central Asian nations in the global economy and their varied ties to China, the European Union, Russia, and the United States. With improved infrastructure and connectivity between China and Europe (reflected in regular rail freight services since 2011 and China's announcement of its Belt and Road Initiative in 2013), relaxation of UN sanctions against Iran in 2016, and the change in Uzbekistan's presidency in late 2016, a window of opportunity appears to have opened for Central Asian countries to achieve more sustainable economic futures.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document