The Impact of Foreign Aid Conditionality on Poverty Alleviation in Bangladesh: A Recipient’s Perspective

Donors provide aid to the recipient government with conditions to implement some policies so that the recipient government can use aid effectively and able to improve its economic, social, and political situation as well as reduce its poverty. However, concerns have been raised that aid conditionality has promoted reforms that could not reduce the poverty situation in some countries such as sub-Saharan Africa, while some countries in East Asia were able to break out of poverty and find themselves better off than before the conditional aid was accepted. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of foreign aid conditionality on poverty alleviation in Bangladesh. The paper is qualitative in nature and a case study on Bangladesh. The study has been conducted by using secondary data, like journal articles, research papers, and Bangladesh government and aid donors’ reports. The study finds that Bangladesh has started to show considerable improvement in reducing poverty, though it is still ranking low on the Human Development Index. The findings have important implications for policymakers and captured insights about the foreign aid conditionality in Bangladesh.

El nexo migración-desarrollo en la Agenda 2030 para el desarrollo sostenible

What are the characteristics and what implications do the different frameworks of the migration-development nexus have in relation to the problem of migration-related conditionality? What framework of the migration-development nexus does the 2030 Agenda offer? With this contribution we intend to reflect on the problem of migration-related conditionality. To do this, we analyze the political frameworks that support the different approaches to the so-called migration-development nexus. Our objective is to place this reflection in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to find out what vision of the migration-development nexus it formulates and, therefore, about the problem of migration-related conditionality. The aid conditionality aid has been present since the origins of development policy. There are several types of conditionality, among which economic and political must be highlighted. As of September 11, the securitization of aid development was reinforced. Subsequently, the phenomenon of international migration became involved in that process. In this way the so-called migration-related conditionality arises. Firstly, we briefly expose the historical evolution of conditionality. Secondly, we explain the two theoretical-conceptual approaches to the migration-development nexus, which offer conflicting views: one approach states that migration positively impacts on development, while the other understands that the impact is negative. Finally, we offer a better understanding of the framing of migration and the conceptualization of the migration-development nexus carried out by 2030 Agenda. In this wat we can conclude whether this initiative seek to reduce or increase the migration-related conditionality.

The impact of EU conditionality policy on human rights and rule of law in the western Balkans: An attempt at a methodology

This article seeks to explore the underlying methodological dimension of measuring the impact or effects of the EU’s policy of conditionality in western Balkans states in the arena of human rights protection and respect for the rule of law. These are critical issues in which aid conditionality has global dimensions, while the EU itself remains a valid international actor. The article also focuses on the adequacy of the measurement instruments used to measure the impact of this policy, based on the existing trends as well as past experience with enlargement to central and eastern Europe. The author identifies the major research questions that need to be confronted and suggests an appropriate methodological approach to resolve these, including an important gender dimension. In the process, he identifies the deficiencies concerning the measurement of conditionality which have come to haunt the application of the policy. The central aim kept in mind throughout is to seek improvements in the application of the policy itself and with a view to the wider lessons regarding the role that conditionality has come to play.

Process Tracing the Term Limit Struggle in Malawi: The Role of International Democracy Promotion in Muluzi’s Bid for a Third Term

Attempts to circumvent presidential term limits in African countries show a puzzling variation of success or failure. This variation is due to both international and domestic factors. However, how these interact is not yet well understood. This article analyses how international donors and organisations intervened in the attempted term limit circumvention in Malawi from 1999 to 2003. It differentiates between different types of instruments used by donors in democracy promotion, and, by doing so, contributes to the question whether donors in term limit struggles can contribute to genuine democratic consolidation. It employs deductive process-tracing based on an analysis of primary media sources and interviews conducted during field research. The results show that erosion of party support as a proximate and a strong civil society response as a mediate factor were important in saving Malawi’s term limit. Aid conditionality and democracy promotion by donors and international organisations exerted influence on both factors.

Institutional Arsenals for Democracy? The Postcoup Effects of Conscript Militaries

Recent years have seen increased study of military coups. While this generally emphasizes coups as a dependent variable, there is a growing debate as to how coups influence a country’s long-term political trajectory. This literature includes a handful of studies that claim coups against authoritarian regimes can act for the public good and provide a boost to the state’s democratization prospects. Causal mechanisms have included factors such as aid conditionality, economic interdependence, and foreign pressure more generally. We argue that this growing body of work can benefit from increased attention given to those who carry out coups: the armed forces. Specifically, we argue that coups reflecting a larger societal interest, be it the removal of a dictator or the desire for democracy after a dictator’s ouster, are more likely undertaken by conscript armies. A cross-national exploration of over 170 coups suggests that conscript militaries are in fact significantly more likely to oversee democratic transitions following military coups. Beyond contributing to a broader literature on civil–military relations, the article points to important policy implications for developing nations.

Same-sex lives between the language of international LGBT rights, international aid, and anti-homosexuality

This article considers how international development aid is used in engaging with sexuality rights in Africa. It considers both the emergence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights as aid conditionality in international aid relations and responses to these from African political leaders. The central issue identified is that political leaders for and against these rights have marginalized and ignored voices of the sexually diverse people in their engagements in African settings. Here, a problem emerges that people’s own claims for rights are subsumed within the broader agendas set by politicians at international and national levels. This article analyzes these relations and their outcomes for activists and civil society groups in diverse African settings by considering the language of LGBT rights used by international political actors and the ways in which African political leaders develop their own language on the issue.