Religion and British International Development Policy (Palgrave Studies in Religion, Politics, and Policy)

This book studies the relationship between British government and faith groups in its international development agenda within and beyond the context of Brexit. It includes aspects of International Relations, International Development, and Religion and Politics to trace the relationship between the British government and faith groups, showing that the relationship is enhanced on three conditions: (i) the resurgence of religion in international affairs; (ii) the attitudes of politicians and political parties towards the third sector (i.e. voluntary and private sectors); and (iii) the rising prominence of the international development agenda in British politics. The third condition triggers the need to understand this relationship in the wake of Brexit. Thus, the book aims to analyze to what extent the increasing prominence of an international development agenda in British politics explains the relationship between the government and faith groups, and ultimately whether Brexit has increased the prominence of international development agenda and brought faith groups into closer relations with the government. Acknowledgements 7 Praise for Religion and British International Development Policy 9 Contents 11 Part I Introduction, Research Design and Context Setting 13 1 Introduction 14 Religion in International Relations 14 Defining Religion 19 Faith-Based Organisations 21 Faith Communities 24 Explaining Religion and British International Development Policy 25 The Brexit Factor 26 The Uniqueness of the UK 27 The Resurgence of Religion in UK Politics 27 The Increasing Salience of the International Development Agenda in UK Politics 30 Neoliberalism and Its Impact on Governance 33 Overview of Research Design and Methodology 37 Historical Institutionalism 43 Book Structure 44 Conclusion 45 References 48 2 Faith and Development: A Manifestation of Resurgence of Religion in International Relations 57 Introduction 57 Religion in International Relations (IR) Literature 59 Marginalisation of Religion in IR 59 Bringing Religion into IR 63 The Dual Nature of Religion and Its Impact on International Relations 72 Faith and Development 77 Analysing Religion at Government Policy Level Through New Institutionalism 84 Historical Institutionalism 86 The Analytical Framework of Historical Institutionalism as Applied in This Book 91 Path Dependency (Institutional Stability) 91 Institutional Change 92 Conclusion 94 References 97 3 The UK’s International Development Policies from the End of the Cold War to the Present 106 Introduction 106 British International Development Agenda (Pre-1992) 108 First Period (Conservative Government Under John Major): 1992–1997 119 Political Conditionality Policies 121 Second Period: (Labour Government Under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown) 1997–2010 128 Partnership and Poverty-Reduction Policies 133 Third Period (Conservative-Led Coalition Government Under David Cameron) 2010–2015 137 Value for Money Policies 140 Fourth Period (Under the Conservatives Three Prime Ministers’ Leadership and Brexit) 2015–2019 142 Cross-Governmental Approach 144 Brexit 145 Discussion: Historical Institutionalism Analysis 147 Institutional Stability 147 Institutional Change 148 Incremental Changes 149 Radical Changes and Critical Junctures 150 Conclusion 152 References 155 Part II Analysis of Religion at the Government Policy Making Level 162 4 Faith-Based Organisations in the UK’s International Development Policy 163 Introduction 163 First Period: The Relationship Between the FCO/ODA and FBOs (Conservative Government Under John Major) 1992–1997 165 Funding 166 Advocacy 172 Second Period: The Relationship Between DFID and FBOs (Labour Government Under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown) 1997–2010 175 Funding 176 Advocacy 186 Third Period: The Relationship Between DFID and FBOs (Conservative-Led Coalition Government Under David Cameron) 2010–2015 189 Funding 191 Advocacy 195 Fourth Period: The Relationship Between DFID and FBOs (Conservative Government Under David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson) 2015–2019 201 Funding 202 Advocacy 205 Discussion: Historical Institutionalism Analysis 207 Institutional Stability 208 Institutional Change 209 Episodic Changes 209 Critical Moments/Incremental Changes 210 Conclusion 214 The Resurgence of Religion in International Politics Explains the Relationship Between the Government and Faith Groups 214 The Attitudes of Political Parties and Politicians Towards the Third Sector Explain the Relationship Between the Government and Faith Groups 215 The Increasing Prominence of the International Development Agenda in British Politics Explains the Relationship Between the Government and Faith Groups 216 References 219 5 Faith Communities in the UK’s International Development Policies 227 Introduction 227 First Period: 1992–1997: UK Faith Communities’ Role in Humanitarian Relief and Campaigning for Fairer International Development Policies 229 Humanitarian Relief 229 Campaigning 231 Second Period: 1997–2010: UK Faith Communities’ Role in Assisting the Government to Raise Awareness and Build Support for the International Development Agenda 235 Building Support for Development 240 ‘Target 15’: Understanding and Making Use of the Attitudes of Faith Communities to Build More Support 243 Funding Faith Communities 244 Third Period: 2010–2015, Faith Communities vs. Private Sector in the “Big Society” 249 Comparing the Third Period (New Labour Government) and the Fourth (Conservative-Led Coalition) Period 251 Faith Partnership Principles 256 Results and Value for Money in Dealing with Faith Communities 257 Fourth Period: 2015–2019, Faith Communities in the Cross-Government Aid Spending Approach 257 Funding Opportunities for Faith Communities in the UK 259 Advocacy by Faith Communities in the UK 260 Discussion: Historical Institutionalism Analysis 261 Institutional Stability 262 Policy Change 262 Conclusions 265 The Resurgence of Religion in International Politics Explains the Relationship Between the Government and Faith Groups 266 The Attitudes of Political Parties and Politicians Towards the Third Sector Explain the Relationship Between the Government and Faith Groups 266 The Increasing Prominence of the International Development Agenda in British Politics Explains the Relationship Between the Government and Faith Groups 267 References 271 6 Brexit and UK International Development Policy: Implications for the Relationship Between the Government and Faith Groups 276 Introduction 276 The International Development Agenda of Britain’s Major Political Parties—1992–2015 (Pre-Brexit) 278 International Development in Labour’s Political Agenda: 1992–2015 278 International Development in the Conservative Party Political Agenda, 1992–2015 282 The Public and International Development 288 Brexit and the International Development Agenda 291 Post-Brexit Political Party Manifestos on International Development 295 The Role of Faith Groups on the Rising Salience of the International Development Agenda Within British Politics 298 Discussion: Historical Institutionalism Analysis 302 Brexit: A “Window of Opportunity” or a “Critical Moment” for Change in the International Development Agenda? 303 Conclusion 306 References 307 7 Conclusion 311 Summary 311 Summary of the Findings 313 The ‘Faith and Development’ Agenda 314 The Relationship Between the Government and Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs) 315 The Relationship Between the Government and Faith Communities 316 Comparative Discussion 318 Theoretical Contribution 318 Policy Lessons 324 Future Research 327 Finally 328 References 329 Index 331 This book studies the relationship between British government and faith groups in its international development agenda within and beyond the context of Brexit. It includes aspects of International Relations, International Development, and Religion and Politics to trace the relationship between the British government and faith groups, showing that the relationship is enhanced on three conditions: firstly, the resurgence of religion in international affairs; secondly, the attitudes of politicians and political parties towards the third sector (i.e. voluntary and private sectors); and thirdly, the rising prominence of the international development agenda in British politics, which triggers the need to understand this relationship in the wake of Brexit. Thus, the book aims to analyze to what extent the increasing prominence of an international development agenda in British politics explains the relationship between the government and faith groups, and ultimately to answer whether Brexit has increased the prominence of international development agenda and brought faith groups into closer relations with the government. Dr. Aikande C. Kwayu is a development policy researcher at Bumaco Limited, and an honorary research fellow in the Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. She has a PhD in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham, UK, and her research interests include Religion and International Politics