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Development aid is a policy that can be encompassed within neo-liberal thought. The belief that states can cooperate with one another for mutual benefit and absolute gains is firmly enshrined in neo-liberal theory. Mutual benefit and absolute gains point towards advantages to those donors who send development aid however. This creates the question of whether development aid is purely philanthropic or if neo-liberal thought means that donors should look to gain something from the sending of aid.

EuropeAid itself was set up in order to implement "EU development cooperation in all developing countries". In addition, the EU is a unique donor due to the bilateral aid and multilateral institutions that concurrently exist. Although EuropeAid states its intentions in terms of development, the exact nature of EU development aid is still debated. Furthermore, the Treaty of Maastricht states under Article C that "external activities as a whole" should be consistent, thus linking development with numerous other policies. Does this allow the EU's aid to be used for other objectives?

Ravi Sodha is a recent graduate, having completed an MA in European Studies Maastricht University. His research focuses on European Common Security and Defence Policy and European External Economic Policy.

March 5, 2012

Franco Pedroni, University of Durham, Bronze Contributor (16)

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Nice article -
But what role do you think EuropeAid may have in empowering civil society? What I mean is, governments in developing areas mostly in Africa and the Middle East have lost power as a result of societal upheavals; however, EuropeAid is still active in many such territories - would you say that EuropeAid may be not just preventing or curing humanitarian crises, but also trying to push civil society towards the direction the EU would like it to go (i.e., supporting a leader in exchange for greater aid or things of that sort, which similar associations - USAid, for example - have done before)?
Thank you.

Tags: | civil society | MENA region | African Development |

March 13, 2012

Ravi Sodha, Maastricht University, (4)

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Thank you for your comment.

I believe that EuropeAid could have a role in empowering civil society, although it is the extent at which it will do this that will be interesting in the near future. What must be remembered when talking about aid from the EU is that a major part of this is bilateral aid from Member States to other countries, such as what has been seen with vast amounts of aid from the UK to India.

With the operationalisation of the European External Action Service, it seems to me that EuropeAid will be used as a means to supplement other European policy aims, such as trade agreements and economic partnerships, which is what we have been seeing with aid to India, which the UK is looking to change currently with the economic prosperity in the sub-continent. I believe that the wish to empower civil society will be a key factor when dealing with countries near the EU's borders, where issues of migration directly impact the EU. However, it does seem that development aid is becoming more political and that will curtail the wish to empower civil society in nations that are situated far away from the EU's borders.

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