IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v75y2015icp26-45.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Diverging Visions on Political Conditionality: The Role of Domestic Politics and International Socialization in French and British Aid

Author

Listed:
  • de Felice, Damiano

Abstract

This article shows that and explains why the United Kingdom has internalized political conditionality to a larger extent than France. The assessment part is based on the analysis of policy documents, international agreements, and two “hard” cases (Mozambique and Zimbabwe). Variation between the two countries is explained by the existence of clearer lines of accountability for British aid decision-makers, stricter scrutiny by British media, and stronger social pressure from Nordic donors. Evidence does not support the explanatory power of material interests, party politics, level of parliamentary control, and socialization processes within the Commonwealth (versus the International Organization of La Francophonie).

Suggested Citation

  • de Felice, Damiano, 2015. "Diverging Visions on Political Conditionality: The Role of Domestic Politics and International Socialization in French and British Aid," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 26-45.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:75:y:2015:i:c:p:26-45
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.01.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X1500011X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.01.010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alesina, Alberto & Dollar, David, 2000. "Who Gives Foreign Aid to Whom and Why?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 33-63, March.
    2. Molenaers, N. & Gagiano, A. & Smets, L. & Dellepiane, S., 2015. "What Determines the Suspension of Budget Support?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 62-73.
    3. Douglas A. van Belle & Steven W. Hook, 2000. "Greasing the squeaky wheel: News media coverage and us development aid, 1977--1992," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(3), pages 321-346, April.
    4. Jan Grebe, 2010. "And They Are Still Targeting: Assessing the Effectiveness of Targeted Sanctions against Zimbabwe," Africa Spectrum, Institute of African Affairs, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 45(1), pages 3-29.
    5. Dreher, Axel & Nunnenkamp, Peter & Thiele, Rainer, 2011. "Are ‘New’ Donors Different? Comparing the Allocation of Bilateral Aid Between nonDAC and DAC Donor Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 1950-1968.
    6. Legro, Jeffrey W., 1997. "Which norms matter? Revisiting the “failure” of internationalism," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(1), pages 31-63, January.
    7. Helen V. Milner & Dustin H. Tingley, 2010. "The Political Economy Of U.S. Foreign Aid: American Legislators And The Domestic Politics Of Aid," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 200-232, July.
    8. Koch, Svea, 2015. "A Typology of Political Conditionality Beyond Aid: Conceptual Horizons Based on Lessons from the European Union," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 97-108.
    9. Anke Hoeffler & Verity Outram, 2011. "Need, Merit, or Self‐Interest—What Determines the Allocation of Aid?," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 237-250, May.
    10. Jean‐Claude Berthélemy, 2006. "Bilateral Donors’ Interest vs. Recipients’ Development Motives in Aid Allocation: Do All Donors Behave the Same?," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(2), pages 179-194, May.
    11. Eric Neumayer, 2003. "Do Human Rights Matter in Bilateral Aid Allocation? A Quantitative Analysis of 21 Donor Countries," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 84(3), pages 650-666, September.
    12. Kratochwil, Friedrich & Ruggie, John Gerard, 1986. "International organization: a state of the art on an art of the state," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 40(4), pages 753-775, October.
    13. Del Biondo, Karen, 2015. "Donor Interests or Developmental Performance? Explaining Sanctions in EU Democracy Promotion in sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 74-84.
    14. Lloyd Sachikonye, 2002. "Whither Zimbabwe? crisis & democratisation," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(91), pages 13-20.
    15. Tierney, Michael J. & Nielson, Daniel L. & Hawkins, Darren G. & Roberts, J. Timmons & Findley, Michael G. & Powers, Ryan M. & Parks, Bradley & Wilson, Sven E. & Hicks, Robert L., 2011. "More Dollars than Sense: Refining Our Knowledge of Development Finance Using AidData," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 1891-1906.
    16. Brech, Viktor & Potrafke, Niklas, 2014. "Donor ideology and types of foreign aid," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 61-75.
    17. Finnemore, Martha & Sikkink, Kathryn, 1998. "International Norm Dynamics and Political Change," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(4), pages 887-917, October.
    18. Berthelemy, Jean-Claude & Tichit, Ariane, 2004. "Bilateral donors' aid allocation decisions--a three-dimensional panel analysis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 253-274.
    19. Hackenesch, Christine, 2015. "It’s Domestic Politics, Stupid! EU Democracy Promotion Strategies Meet African Dominant Party Regimes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 85-96.
    20. Clist, Paul, 2011. "25Years of Aid Allocation Practice: Whither Selectivity?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 1724-1734.
    21. Harrigan, Jane & Wang, Chengang, 2011. "A New Approach to the Allocation of Aid Among Developing Countries: Is the USA Different from the Rest?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1281-1293, August.
    22. Hellum, Anne & Derman, Bill, 2004. "Land Reform and Human Rights in Contemporary Zimbabwe: Balancing Individual and Social Justice Through an Integrated Human Rights Framework," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(10), pages 1785-1805, October.
    23. Fisher, Jonathan, 2015. "‘Does it Work?’ – Work for Whom? Britain and Political Conditionality since the Cold War," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 13-25.
    24. Younas, Javed, 2008. "Motivation for bilateral aid allocation: Altruism or trade benefits," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 661-674, September.
    25. Tony Addison & Liisa Laakso, 2003. "The political economy of Zimbabwe's descent into conflict," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(4), pages 457-470.
    26. John Vereker, 2002. "Blazing the Trail: Eight Years of Change in Handling International Development," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 20(2), pages 133-140, May.
    27. Dollar, David & Levin, Victoria, 2006. "The Increasing Selectivity of Foreign Aid, 1984-2003," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 2034-2046, December.
    28. Cuvilas, C.A. & Jirjis, R. & Lucas, C., 2010. "Energy situation in Mozambique: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(7), pages 2139-2146, September.
    29. Faust, Jörg, 2008. "Are More Democratic Donor Countries More Development Oriented? Domestic Institutions and External Development Promotion in OECD Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 383-398, March.
    30. Abrams, Burton A & Lewis, Kenneth A, 1993. "Human Rights and the Distribution of U.S. Foreign Aid," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 77(4), pages 815-821, December.
    31. Joseph Hanlon, 2010. "Frelimo landslide in tainted election in Mozambique," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(123), pages 92-95, March.
    32. Chhotray, Vasudha & Hulme, David, 2009. "Contrasting Visions for Aid and Governance in the 21st Century: The White House Millennium Challenge Account and DFID's Drivers of Change," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 36-49, January.
    33. Nadia Molenaers, 2012. "The Great Divide? Donor perceptions of budget support, eligibility and policy dialogue," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(5), pages 791-806.
    34. repec:bla:devpol:v:23:y:2005:i:6:p:665-681 is not listed on IDEAS
    35. Rachel Hayman, 2011. "Budget Support and Democracy: a twist in the conditionality tale," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(4), pages 673-688.
    36. Moravcsik, Andrew, 1997. "Taking Preferences Seriously: A Liberal Theory of International Politics," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(4), pages 513-553, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Molenaers, Nadia & Dellepiane, Sebastian & Faust, Jorg, 2015. "Political Conditionality and Foreign Aid," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 2-12.
    2. Kohnert, Dirk, 2015. "Donor’s double talk undermines African agency: Comparative study of civic agency in Burkina Faso and Togo," MPRA Paper 67093, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Daniela Donno & Michael Neureiter, 2018. "Can human rights conditionality reduce repression? Examining the European Union’s economic agreements," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 335-357, September.
    4. Suzuki, Mao, 2020. "Profits before patients? Analyzing donors’ economic motives for foreign aid in the health sector," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    5. Del Biondo, Karen, 2015. "Donor Interests or Developmental Performance? Explaining Sanctions in EU Democracy Promotion in sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 74-84.
    6. Cheeseman, Nic & Swedlund, Haley J. & O'Brien-Udry, Cleo, 2024. "Foreign aid withdrawals and suspensions: Why, when and are they effective?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    7. Dasandi, Niheer & Erez, Lior, 2023. "The flag and the stick: Aid suspensions, human rights, and the problem of the complicit public," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Reinsberg, Bernhard, 2015. "Foreign Aid Responses to Political Liberalization," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 46-61.
    2. Molenaers, Nadia & Dellepiane, Sebastian & Faust, Jorg, 2015. "Political Conditionality and Foreign Aid," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 2-12.
    3. Stubbs, Thomas H. & Kentikelenis, Alexander E. & King, Lawrence P., 2016. "Catalyzing Aid? The IMF and Donor Behavior in Aid Allocation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 511-528.
    4. Masaki, Takaaki, 2016. "Coups d’État and Foreign Aid," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 51-68.
    5. Del Biondo, Karen, 2015. "Donor Interests or Developmental Performance? Explaining Sanctions in EU Democracy Promotion in sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 74-84.
    6. Angelika J. Budjan & Andreas Fuchs, 2021. "Democracy and Aid Donorship," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 217-238, November.
    7. Axel Dreher & Peter Nunnenkamp & Maya Schmaljohann, 2015. "The Allocation of German Aid: Self-interest and Government Ideology," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 160-184, March.
    8. Dreher, Axel & Lang, Valentin & Reinsberg, Bernhard, 2024. "Aid effectiveness and donor motives," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    9. Minasyan, Anna, 2018. "US aid, US educated leaders and economic ideology," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 244-257.
    10. Nagae, Akira & Katayama, Hajime & Takase, Koichi, 2022. "Donor aid allocation and accounting standards of recipients," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    11. Jung, Yunji & Kim, Juno & Kim, Kyunghun, 2024. "Whom is economic aid meant for? The push vs. pull determinant factors of official development assistance," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PA), pages 173-195.
    12. Guillon, Marlène & Mathonnat, Jacky, 2020. "What can we learn on Chinese aid allocation motivations from available data? A sectorial analysis of Chinese aid to African countries," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    13. Kim, Nam Kyu & Kroeger, Alex, 2017. "Rewarding the introduction of multiparty elections," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 164-181.
    14. Thilo Bodenstein & Jörg Faust, 2017. "Who Cares? European Public Opinion on Foreign Aid and Political Conditionality," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(5), pages 955-973, September.
    15. Donaubauer, Julian & Meyer, Birgit & Nunnenkamp, Peter, 2016. "Aid, Infrastructure, and FDI: Assessing the Transmission Channel with a New Index of Infrastructure," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 230-245.
    16. Axel Dreher & Sarah Langlotz & Silvia Marchesi, 2017. "Information Transmission And Ownership Consolidation In Aid Programs," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(4), pages 1671-1688, October.
    17. Souha El Khanji, 2022. "Donors’ Interest in Water and Sanitation Subsectors," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(2), pages 611-654, April.
    18. Barthel, Fabian & Neumayer, Eric & Nunnenkamp, Peter & Selaya, Pablo, 2014. "Competition for Export Markets and the Allocation of Foreign Aid: The Role of Spatial Dependence among Donor Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 350-365.
    19. Marlène GUILLON & Jacky MATHONNAT, 2017. "Is there a strategy in China’s health official development assistance to African countries?," Working Papers 201710, CERDI.
    20. Zdeněk Opršal & Jaromír Harmáček, 2019. "Is Foreign Aid Responsive to Environmental Needs and Performance of Developing Countries? Case Study of the Czech Republic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-16, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:75:y:2015:i:c:p:26-45. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.