The Politics of Aid : African Strategies for Dealing with Donors

This book presents an original approach to understanding the relationship between official aid agencies and aid-receiving African governments. The first part provides a challenge to the hazy official claims of aid donors that they have stopped trying to force African governments to do what 'we' think is best for 'them' and instead are now promoting African 'ownership' of the policies and projects which foreign aid supports. The authors tease out the multiple meanings of the term 'ownership', demonstrating why it became popular when it did, but also the limits to this discourse of ownership observed in aid practices. The authors set out to defend a particular vision of ownership—one that involves African governments taking back control of their development policies and priorities. Based largely on interviews with the people who do the negotiating on both sides of the aid relationship, the country case studies put the rhetoric of the new aid system to a more practical test. The authors ask how donors seek to achieve their policy objectives without being seen to push too hard, what preconditions they place on transferring authority to African governments, and what effect the constant discussions over development policy have on state institutions, democracy and political culture in recipient countries. It investigates the strategies that African states have adopted to advance their objectives in aid negotiations and how successful their efforts have been. Comparing the country experiences, it points out the conditions accounting for the varying success of eight African countries: Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia. It concludes by asking whether the conditions African countries face in aid negotiations are changing. "This book presents an original approach to understanding the relationship between official aid agencies and aid-receiving African governments. The first part provides a challenge to the hazy official claims of aid donors that they have stopped trying to force African governments to do what 'we' think is best for 'them' and instead are now promoting African 'ownership' of the policies and projects which foreign aid supports. The authors tease out the multiple meanings of the term 'ownership', demonstrating why it became popular when it did, but also the limits to this discourse of ownership observed in aid practices. The authors set out to defend a particular vision of ownership--one that involves African governments taking back control of their development policies and priorities. Based largely on interviews with the people who do the negotiating on both sides of the aid relationship, the country case studies put the rhetoric of the new aid system to a more practical test. The authors ask how donors seek to achieve their policy objectives without being seen to push too hard, what preconditions they place on transferring authority to African governments, and what effect the constant discussions over development policy have on state institutions, democracy and political culture in recipient countries. It investigates the strategies that African states have adopted to advance their objectives in aid negotiations and how successful their efforts have been. Comparing the country experiences, it points out the conditions accounting for the varying success of eight African countries: Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia. It concludes by asking whether the conditions African countries face in aid negotiations are changing"--Jacket Contents......Page 8 Foreword......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 List of Abbreviations......Page 16 Notes on Contributors......Page 19 Introduction: Aid and Sovereignty......Page 22 1. Negotiating Aid......Page 48 2. Aid-Recipient Sovereignty in Historical Context......Page 66 3. Understanding Contemporary Aid Relationships......Page 95 4. Botswana: The African Success Story......Page 129 5. Ethiopia: Retaining Sovereignty in Aid Relations......Page 152 6. Rwanda: Milking the Cow. Creating Policy Space in Spite of Aid Dependence......Page 177 7. Ghana: Breaking Out of Aid Dependence? Economic and Political Barriers to Ownership......Page 206 8. Mali: Patterns and Limits of Donor-Driven Ownership......Page 238 9. Mozambique: Contested Sovereignty? The Dilemmas of Aid Dependence......Page 267 10. Tanzania: A Genuine Case of Recipient Leadership in the Aid System?......Page 292 11. Zambia: Back to the Future?......Page 320 12. Aid and Power: A Comparative Analysis of the Country Studies......Page 350 Conclusion: Changing Conditions?......Page 382 B......Page 401 C......Page 402 D......Page 404 E......Page 405 G......Page 407 I......Page 408 K......Page 409 M......Page 410 N......Page 412 P......Page 414 R......Page 416 S......Page 417 U......Page 418 W......Page 420 Z......Page 421 Contents 8 Foreword 10 Preface 12 List of Abbreviations 16 Notes on Contributors 19 Introduction: Aid and Sovereignty 22 1. Negotiating Aid 48 2. Aid-Recipient Sovereignty in Historical Context 66 3. Understanding Contemporary Aid Relationships 95 4. Botswana: The African Success Story 129 5. Ethiopia: Retaining Sovereignty in Aid Relations 152 6. Rwanda: Milking the Cow. Creating Policy Space in Spite of Aid Dependence 177 7. Ghana: Breaking Out of Aid Dependence? Economic and Political Barriers to Ownership 206 8. Mali: Patterns and Limits of Donor-Driven Ownership 238 9. Mozambique: Contested Sovereignty? The Dilemmas of Aid Dependence 267 10. Tanzania: A Genuine Case of Recipient Leadership in the Aid System? 292 11. Zambia: Back to the Future? 320 12. Aid and Power: A Comparative Analysis of the Country Studies 350 Conclusion: Changing Conditions? 382 Index 401 A 401 B 401 C 402 D 404 E 405 F 407 G 407 H 408 I 408 J 409 K 409 L 410 M 410 N 412 O 414 P 414 R 416 S 417 T 418 U 418 V 420 W 420 Z 421 The volume examines negotiations between rich countries and African governments over what should happen with money given as aid. Describing the history of aid talks the volume presents eight studies of the strategies of negotiation tried by particular African countries. - ;This book presents an original approach to understanding the relationship between official aid agencies and aid-receiving African governments. The first part provides a challenge to the hazy official claims of aid donors that they have stopped trying to force African governments to do what 'we' think is best for 'them' and i