The Challenges of Development Cooperation: How to Increase the Efficiency of Aid

Master's Thesis , 2004 , 124 Pages , Grade: sehr gut

Politics - Topic: Development Politics

Development cooperation can be broadly defined as an effort to assist nation states, and their citizens and institutions to develop and thereby grow out of poverty. It usually consists of a transfer of money and/or knowledge from developed to developing countries to support development efforts in a wide range of areas, such as infrastructure, governance, market reform, poverty reduction, education, health care, etc. It is a relatively young field in international relations, evolving after World War II with the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was designed to help Western Europe recover and to establish democratic states based on market economy and to meet the Soviet communist threat. The success of the Marshall Plan led the United States to conclude that this concept could also be applied to other parts of the world, mainly to protect them from any communist tendencies, but also to reduce poverty. National security interests, however, were the leading motive for development cooperation during the Cold War. The American foreign aid policy continues to focus on national security interests up to today. Other donor countries, for example France and Great Britain, were supporting their former colonies, aiming at securing their commercial interests and maintaining access to natural resources. Only the Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Sweden and Norway) and the Netherlands placed humanitarian motives above security and commercial interests and aimed at eliminating poverty from the very beginning of their development cooperation. To achieve their diverse and varied goals, donor countries employed various strategies and repeatedly changed them to respond to their non-efficiency. Development strategies were also influenced by development theorists and varied from simply supplying developing countries with what they were missing (mainly capital) with the expectation that the benefits would trickle down to the poor, to structural adjustment programs demanding strict economical and fiscal policies. After the end of the Cold War, the demand for developing countries to display democratic principles was then added as a requirement for receiving aid. Yet none of these strategies has been able to close the global poverty gap.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• CHAPTER I
  • Introduction
  • In Search of a Development Theory
• CHAPTER II
  • Factors Influencing a Country's Ability to Develop
    • Introducing Better Conflict-Prevention Strategies
    • The Impact of Culture on Development
    • Eliminating Corruption
    • Actively Fighting HIV/AIDS
    • Is International Trade the Answer to Alleviating World Poverty?
• CHAPTER III
  • Size and Distribution of Foreign Aid
    • Bilateral Aid
    • Multilateral Aid
    • The UN System
    • The World Bank
    • The EU
• CHAPTER IV
  • The Determinants of Successful Development Cooperation
    • The Call for a Comprehensive Debt Relief Strategy
    • What do Poor People need the Most?
    • Scrutinizing Democracy and Human Rights as a Prerequisite for Development
    • The Role of NGOs in Development Cooperation
    • Strengthening the UN Millennium Development Goals (UNMDG)

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis aims to identify key areas where development cooperation needs to focus in order to be effective. It advocates for a global development strategy as the most efficient way to pool capital and expertise. Through a detailed analysis of the size and distribution of development cooperation, the thesis argues that its inefficiency, rather than its insufficiency, is the main obstacle to success. To provide developing countries with a solid foundation for growth, the thesis proposes several key actions, including addressing debt burdens, strengthening the UN Millennium Development Goals, streamlining the number of international organizations involved, focusing on specific areas, and prioritizing the needs of the poor.

• The need for a global development strategy to improve the efficiency of development cooperation.
• The impact of debt burdens on developing countries and the importance of debt relief strategies.
• The crucial role of the UN Millennium Development Goals in global development efforts.
• The challenges posed by a complex network of international organizations involved in development cooperation.
• The importance of focusing on specific development areas rather than attempting to address all problems simultaneously.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

• Chapter I introduces the topic of development cooperation and explores various theories and approaches to development. It examines the evolution of development cooperation, highlighting the challenges and complexities associated with achieving sustainable development.
• Chapter II delves into the factors that influence a country's ability to develop. It discusses the impact of conflict, cultural factors, corruption, HIV/AIDS, and international trade on development outcomes. This chapter presents a multidimensional perspective on development challenges.
• Chapter III analyzes the size and distribution of foreign aid. It explores both bilateral and multilateral aid flows, examining the roles of different international organizations such as the UN System, the World Bank, and the EU. This chapter provides a detailed overview of the current landscape of development assistance.
• Chapter IV investigates the determinants of successful development cooperation. It examines the need for debt relief, emphasizes the importance of understanding the needs of the poor, critiques the use of democracy and human rights as prerequisites for development, explores the role of NGOs, and argues for strengthening the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The key concepts explored in this thesis include development cooperation, global development strategy, poverty reduction, debt relief, UN Millennium Development Goals, international organizations, NGOs, democracy, human rights, and international trade. The work emphasizes the need for a coordinated and effective approach to development cooperation to address the challenges of poverty and inequality.

• College: Schiller International University
• Grade: sehr gut
• Author: Katrin Lenz (Author)
• Publication Year: 2004
• Pages: 124
• Catalog Number: V43599
• ISBN (eBook): 9783638413572
• Language: English
• Tags: Challenges, Development, Cooperation, Increase, Efficiency