IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/diedps/327981.html

Development cooperation at a tipping point: How, why and through what mechanisms do policy norms break?

Author

Listed:
  • Sumner, Andrew
  • Klingebiel, Stephan

Abstract

This paper applies the concepts and theories of "policy norms" to the disruptive effects of the second Trump administration on global development cooperation. We argue that recent US actions represent more than a domestic political shift. They signal a tipping point to longstanding norms of the development cooperation system and specifically multilateralism as well as notions of global solidarity. This paper's objective is to explain how, why and through which political and institutional mechanisms policy norms break down or are reconstituted in global development cooperation. It uses the current moment as a case study of "norm antipreneurship", potentially even "norm imperialism" illustrating the political and institutional strategies through which policy norms are currently been contested, dismantled or displaced. This paper addresses a set of questions: (i) What are the core mechanisms through which development cooperation norms are formed, contested and fragmented? (ii) How is the second Trump administration seeking to reshape normative regimes in development cooperation? (iii) What research agenda is needed to understand norm change in a multipolar and contested development cooperation landscape?

Suggested Citation

  • Sumner, Andrew & Klingebiel, Stephan, 2025. "Development cooperation at a tipping point: How, why and through what mechanisms do policy norms break?," IDOS Discussion Papers 29/2025, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:diedps:327981
    DOI: 10.23661/idp29.2025
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/327981/1/1936576570.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.23661/idp29.2025?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stephen Brown, 2020. "The Rise and Fall of the Aid Effectiveness Norm," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(4), pages 1230-1248, September.
    2. Dan Honig & Nilima Gulrajani, 2018. "Making good on donors’ desire to Do Development Differently," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 68-84, January.
    3. Legro, Jeffrey W., 1997. "Which norms matter? Revisiting the “failure” of internationalism," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(1), pages 31-63, January.
    4. Acharya, Amitav, 2004. "How Ideas Spread: Whose Norms Matter? Norm Localization and Institutional Change in Asian Regionalism," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(2), pages 239-275, April.
    5. March, James G. & Olsen, Johan P., 1998. "The Institutional Dynamics of International Political Orders," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(4), pages 943-969, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Tanja A. Börzel & Thomas Risse, 2009. "Diffusing (Inter-) Regionalism - The EU as a Model of Regional Integration," KFG Working Papers p0007, Free University Berlin.
    2. Nicholas Khoo, 2015. "The ASEAN Security Community: A Misplaced Consensus1," Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, , vol. 2(2), pages 180-199, August.
    3. Inga Jacobs, 2012. "A community in the Orange: the development of a multi-level water governance framework in the Orange-Senqu River basin in Southern Africa," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 187-210, May.
    4. Olivia Gippner, 2016. "The 2 °C target: a European norm enters the international stage—following the process to adoption in China," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 49-65, February.
    5. Chiara De Franco & Christoph O. Meyer & Karen E. Smith, 2015. "‘Living by Example?’ The European Union and the Implementation of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 994-1009, September.
    6. Tanja A. Börzel & Thomas Risse, 2009. "The Transformative Power of Europe: The European Union and the Diffusion of Ideas," KFG Working Papers p0001, Free University Berlin.
    7. Esser, Daniel E. & Janus, Heiner, 2025. "Everything, everywhere, all at once? Donor bureaucrats struggle with four dimensions of development effectiveness," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    8. Diarmuid Torney, 2015. "Bilateral Climate Cooperation: The EU’s Relations with China and India," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 15(1), pages 105-122, February.
    9. Philip Schleifer & Matteo Fiorini & Graeme Auld, 2017. "Transparency in Transnational Sustainability Governance: A Multivariate Analysis of Regulatory Standard-Setting Programs," RSCAS Working Papers 2017/16, European University Institute.
    10. Diarmuid Torney, 2012. "Assessing EU Leadership on Climate Change - The Limits of Diffusion in EU Relations with China and India," KFG Working Papers p0046, Free University Berlin.
    11. Kelly Gerard, 2023. "Doing aid chains differently: Evaluating the potential of Multi‐Stakeholder Partnerships," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 41(1), January.
    12. Antje Wiener, 2016. "Contested Norms in Inter-National Encounters: The ‘Turbot War’ as a Prelude to Fairer Fisheries Governance," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(3), pages 20-36.
    13. Joyeeta Gupta & Aarti Gupta & Courtney Vegelin, 2022. "Equity, justice and the SDGs: lessons learnt from two decades of INEA scholarship," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 393-409, June.
    14. Crystal Whetstone & Luna K. C., 2023. "Disrupting the Saviour Politics in the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in the Global South: Grassroots Women Creating Gender Norms in Nepal and Sri Lanka," Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, , vol. 10(1), pages 95-121, April.
    15. May-Britt Stumbaum, 2015. "The diffusion of norms in security-related fields: views from China, India and the EU," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 331-347, September.
    16. Sikina Jinnah & Abby Lindsay, 2016. "Diffusion Through Issue Linkage: Environmental Norms in US Trade Agreements," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 16(3), pages 41-61, August.
    17. Köllner, Patrick, 2012. ""Informelle Politik" und "informelle Institutionen": Konzeptionelle Grundlagen, analytische Zugänge und Herausforderungen für das Studium autoritärer und anderer politischer Herrschaftssysteme [„Informal Politics" and &quo," GIGA Working Papers 192, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    18. Sophie Jacquot & Cornelia Woll, 2003. "Usage of European Integration - Europeanisation from a Sociological Perspective," Sciences Po Economics Publications (main) hal-01019642, HAL.
    19. Holbig, Heike, 2015. "The Plasticity of Regions: A Social Sciences–Cultural Studies Dialogue on Asia-Related Area Studies," GIGA Working Papers 267, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    20. Philip Streich & Jack S. Levy, 2007. "Time Horizons, Discounting, and Intertemporal Choice," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 51(2), pages 199-226, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:zbw:diedps:327981. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ditubde.html .

    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.