Challenges, constraints and opportunities in development cooperation

1
Challenges, constraints and opportunities in
development cooperation

• Lars Engberg-Pedersen
• Head of research unit on Politics and governance

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5 key contradictions in aid

• Coordination versus proliferation and
  fragmentation
• Recipient ownership versus aid accountability to
  tax payers
• The poverty reduction objective versus the
  allocation of aid resources
• International versus national development
• Differentiation of low-income countries versus
  across-the-board approaches to development

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The ideal solution

1. Cutting the gift economy relations between
   donor and recipient countries by financing
   development cooperation through, e.g.,
   international taxation.
2. Significantly strengthening policy coherence for
   development by integrating international
   development, economic and environmental policies.
3. Creating a multilateral framework for and
   oversight of development cooperation.

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The contemporary world (1)

• Emerging economies the balance of economic
  power is tilting slowly, but surely.
• How united are China, India, Brazil and South
  Africa?
• For how long will the South-North divide dominate
  international politics?
• How significant will the backlash in Europe and
  North America be?

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The contemporary world (2)

• International negotiations from UN to G20.
• Will we get a multilateral climate change deal?
• When will international taxation become
  significant?
• Will the WTO deadlock be broken?
• Will a rights-based normative framework for
  international cooperation emerge?

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The contemporary world (3)

• Crises fundamental institutional innovation
  takes place in response to crisis.
• Institutional innovation will be shaped by
• The nature of the crisis
• The relative strength of different interests
  (power)
• Recent experience with institutions
• Dominant ideas about how to move on

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What to do in dev. cooperation?

• Prepare the ground for action when the crisis
  hit.
• PCD, the Paris agenda, multilateral cooperation
  and division of labour all point in the right
  direction, but cannot be implemented to the
  extent needed.
• Create linkages with Environmental Policy
  Integration.
• Build trust.