Japan and Africa

STRUGGLING FOR EFFECTIVENESS CID A and Canadian Foreign Aid Stephen Brown, ed. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queeris University Press, 2012. 384 pp, $32.95 (paper) ISBN 978-0-7735-4057-6Canadians - and scholars of Canada - have made a national pastime of assessing Canada's relative position in the world. Is Canada a power? Is Canada a major foreign policy (or development) actor? What is the future of Canada's place in the world? Struggling for Effectiveness: CIDA and Canadian Foreign Aid, edited by Stephen Brown, fits with this mode of questioning. Several of the volume's fifteen authors seek to understand Canada's relative ranking in the global foreign aid hierarchy through comparisons to donors such as Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Surprisingly absent from the volume are comparisons to the United States or other donors, such as Japan, who deviate from some of the standards of the international aid donor community that this volume stresses.A less-than-complete understanding of Canada as a foreign aid donor emerges from the comparative approach thatmarks the book's early chapters. While these chapters highlight the positive aspects of other countries' aid programs, the reader learns that on many indicators Canada is simply a middle of the pack country. In multiple rankings in areas ranging from donor size to generosity, Canada sits squarely in the of developed country aid donors, if not ranking slightly above the average for donor performance (53, 89, and Chapter 1). While this situation is clearly a concern for those who see foreign aid as an integral part of Canada's humanitarian ethos and believe that this ethos should define our foreign relations, it may not be a concern for most Canadians: the book provides evidence that prior to the 2000 elections only a minority of Canadians favoured increased foreign aid spending (251). This volume therefore reflects a perpetual tension between how Canadians see themselves and their country and the policies they and their government support. The domestic political context for the recent changes in Canadian foreign aid policy that form the key interest of the volume is laid out well in the chapters by David Black and Adam Chapnick.The overarching message of Struggling for Effectiveness is that Canada's foreign aid policy has lacked a clear and inspiring vision for quite some time. The result of this absence of vision has been policy incoherence, which implies that Canada will remain a middle of the pack country in the area of foreign aid for the foreseeable future. The objective of the book is twofold: to identify precisely where Canada's shortcomings lie and to offer advice and potential solutions for raising Canada from its status. While the authors largely succeed in the former task, their ability to make progress on the latter is limited by the overly critical focus of much of the volume. Indeed, the vast majority of contributors focus on policy failings since Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party came to (minority) power. Rare exceptions to this focus on Harper's failings are found in Stephen Brown's critique of the contraction of Canada's aid budget under Prime Minister Jean Chretien (95) and David Black's acknowledgement in a chapter titled Between Indifference and Idiosyncrasy: The Conservatives and Canadian Foreign Aid to Africa that the Liberals presided over the deepest cuts in the history of the Canadian aid program (248). While this book may not have been edited according to a political agenda, it certainly reflects the contentious domestic politics of Canada of the past decade.Tensions also exist between the consensus of the international aid donor community (which many of the authors in this volume use as a foil to Canada's policies) and some of the prescriptions offered in the volume. The Harper government's focus on Latin America actually reflects the current aid donor consensus that Canada should have greater geographic or sectoral concentration in its foreign aid program (53 and 90). …

Preface. I: Some Theoretical Aspects of Foreign Aid. 1. Foreign Aid and Employment Policies in LDCs P. Hatzipanayotou, M.S. Michael. 2. Altruism, Trade Policy, and the Optimality of Foreign Aid S. Lahiri, P. Raimondos-Moller. 3. Foreign Aid and the Welfare Cost of Inflation E. Asem, K.L. Gupta. II: Foreign Aid, Some General Policy Aspects. 4. Foreign Aid and Global Environmental Policies C. Jepma. 5. International Development Assistance and Food Security A. Matthews. 6. Is There a Link Between Aid and Trade Flows? An Econometric Investigation M. McGillivry, et al. 7. Politicising Development? The Role of Participation in the Activities of Aid Agencies H. White. 8. Technical Expertise and Indigenization L.S. Wilson. III: Case Studies: The Donor Experience. 9. Danish Aid Policy: Theory and Empirical Evidence F. Tarp, et al. IV: Case Studies: The Recipient Experience. 10. Can Aid Generate Growth in Africa? A. Bigsten. 11. Cost Benefit Analysis of Foreign Aid for a Highly Distorted Economy: The Case of Sudan K. Han, E. Tower. 12. Foreign Assistance and Development in Bangladesh A.M. Islam. 13. Main Phases and Salient Features of Turkish Foreign Aid Experience F. Senses. 14. The Macroeconomics of Foreign Aid in Sub-Saharan Africa: Dutch Disease Effects Reconsidered J. Rattso, R. Torvik. Index.

This article presents a comprehensive discourse analysis of the Marshall Plan’s administration, shedding light on a facet of history that has often been overlooked in favor of discussions on aid effectiveness and outcomes. Central to our inquiry is the hypothesis that the institutionalization of U.S. foreign aid, initiated with the Marshall Plan, played a critical role in its success and laid the foundation for future aid initiatives. By focusing on the administrative strategies and decision-making processes, the study offers novel insights into how these elements contributed to the Plan’s effectiveness and the overall evolution of U.S. foreign aid policy. The analysis draws on a variety of primary sources, including historical documents, speeches, and policy papers, to provide a detailed picture of the Plan’s implementation. In doing so, we unveil the complex dynamics and challenges of post-war recovery efforts and the strategic decisions that shaped them. The findings reveal the intricacies of the Marshall Plan’s administration and provide valuable lessons for contemporary policy discourse, particularly in the context of Ukraine’s ongoing recovery and its significance to Kyiv’s international partners. This study contributes to the existing body of literature by offering a nuanced understanding of the Marshall Plan’s legacy and its enduring impact on international development and foreign aid. It serves as a vital resource for policymakers, scholars, and practitioners engaged in shaping effective and sustainable foreign aid programs in the modern era. This study also examines the evolution of U.S. foreign aid from the mid-19th century technical missions to the modern era, highlighting key changes in aid administration and objectives. By tracing this evolution, it contextualizes the Marshall Plan within the broader narrative of U.S. international development policy. The role of the Truman administration in shaping the plan and its broader foreign policy implications, including containment of communism and promotion of democracy, are critically analyzed. This article thus fills a gap in the literature by offering a comprehensive view of the Marshall Plan’s administration and its lasting influence on U.S. foreign aid policy.

Taiwan's foreign aid policy is largely a response to its China-imposed international isolation. Taiwan provides aid without stringent accountability conditions to countries in Africa, the Americas, and the South Pacific in order to maintain official diplomatic relations in the face of Chinese opposition. Often at odds with this is Taiwan's interest in seeking western support through being seen as a responsible aid donor. Domestic political constraints on Taiwan's aid budget accentuate the tension between these two interests. Taiwan's aid program can be seen as the product of these three competing and enduring pressures – maintaining the count of official diplomatic relationships, improving its international reputation, and containing aid spending.Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou's tacit ‘diplomatic truce’ with China – part of a wider warming of intergovernmental relations across the Taiwan Strait – has reduced significantly the squeeze between these three pressures on Taiwan's foreign aid policy. It has allowed the Ma administration to improve Taiwan's reputation, while maintaining or even reducing its aid expenditure, and still retain the same number of official diplomatic relationships. Nevertheless, the Ma administration has not wanted to alienate recipient governments while the prospects for the diplomatic truce with China remain uncertain. There remains considerable continuity with past practices, and the government's handling of aid as a foreign policy tool is still largely opaque and unaccountable.

Nearly 30 years have passed since the government of Japan unveiled its first Official Development Assistance Charter. Although it sets forth fundamental guidelines for the government’s foreign aid policy, previous studies have downplayed the influence of the ODA Charter. By contrast, this study argues that the ODA Charter changed Japan’s aid allocation behavior in relation to a number of issues. First, regarding military matters: since the introduction of the 1992 ODA Charter, testing of weapons of mass destruction by developing nations, as well as military expenditures for conventional weaponry by developing nations outside of Asia, have had a negative effect on aid from Japan. Non-military cooperation with military personnel was newly introduced as a principle in the 2015 Development Cooperation Charter, and that type of cooperation increased from 2015 on, a clear indication of the influence of the Charter. Foreign aid designed to serve Japan’s own interests was first discussed in the 2003 Charter, and the proportion of that type of aid has since increased. The aims of avoiding military force and returning economic benefits to Japan, which have long had strong domestic support in postwar Japan, were seamlessly incorporated into the ODA Charter. By contrast, the aims of promoting democratization and protecting the vulnerable—international norms for foreign aid, imported from abroad—are duly set forth in the ODA Charter, which ostensibly guides Japan’s foreign aid policy, but they have had no impact on its actual aid allocation behavior.

Foreign Aid and Foreign Policy. By Edward S. Mason [The Elihu Root Lectures.] (New York: Harper and Row, Inc., for the Council on Foreign Relations, 1964. Pp. ix, 118. Index. $3.50.) - Volume 21 Issue 3

Introduction More than a decade ago, the World Bank argued that “underlying the litany of Africa’s development problems is a crisis of governance.” Poor quality institutions, weak rule of law, an absence of accountability, tight controls over information, and high levels of corruption still characterize many African states today. Aid levels have been reduced in many parts of Africa during the past decade. Yet in many of the countries with poor governance records, aid continues to contribute a very high percentage of government budgets. This article explores the institutional impact of these high levels of aid and the way that large amounts of aid are delivered. There are many reasons why governance is poor in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Colonialism did little to develop strong, indigenously rooted institutions that could tackle the development demands of modern states. Economic crisis and unsustainable debt, civil wars, and political instability have all taken their toll over the past 2 decades and more. It is difficult to separate the impact of these problems from the possible impact of foreign aid, which is often high in countries that suffer from precisely these problems. Theory provides conflicting guidance here. On the one hand, aid can release governments from binding revenue constraints, enabling them to strengthen domestic institutions and pay higher salaries to civil servants. Aid can provide training and technical assistance to build legal systems and accounting offices. In many countries, aid personnel (sometimes expatriate) manage important government programs, and the infusion of resources and technical assistance can give an important boost to the efficiency and effectiveness of governance, if only in a partial sense. Yet despite these likely benefits, it is also possible that, continued over

For decades, agriculture has been central to economic growth and development in Pakistan. However, endemic rural poverty hinders the performance of agricultural production, and thus deteriorates the sustainable development perspectives of the agricultural sector and the entire country. The need for agricultural reform emphasizes raising farmers’ incomes as a cornerstone of the sustainable development of rural areas, and this study attempts to reveal the effects of foreign aid and government policies on the level of rural poverty in Pakistan. In total, 384 farmers from major agricultural areas of Pakistan completed the survey-based questionnaire. The partial least square structural equation modelling technique tested the results. They, using sustainable agriculture practices, improved agricultural production positively and significantly. Agriculture production positively and significantly reduces or mitigates poverty. This study aimed to reveal the role of foreign aid in sustaining agricultural production and eradicating rural poverty. Foreign aid positively moderated the association between sustainable agriculture practices and agricultural production. In addition, government policies negatively, yet insignificantly, moderate the association between agriculture production and poverty reduction. Furthermore, the findings indicate that agriculture production positively and significantly mediates the association between sustainable agriculture practices and poverty reduction. The study contributes to the literature by improving the understanding of linkages within the poverty-policies-aid-sustainability framework.

The suspension of US foreign aid by President Trump in January 2025 marked a significant shock to the global aid ecosystem, raising critical questions about the behaviour of European official development assistance (ODA) donors as media coverage of the event and public opinion might affect political decision-making. Against this backdrop, we examine the German public’s opinion on the USAID shutdown and their preferences for Germany’s and the European Union’s aid policies. A rapid survey conducted in February–March 2025 (N = 1055) shows that while Germans broadly view the Trump administration’s decision to freeze US aid negatively, expressing particular concern about its impact on humanitarian issues, a substantial majority prefers no change to Germany’s foreign aid policy. Our analysis indicates that political ideology, populist attitudes and trust in the German federal government significantly shape whether individuals view the shutdown favourably and whether they support either mimicking US aid cuts or stepping in to fill the gap. By contrast, concerns about the German economy do not translate into support for foreign aid cuts.

<p>This paper examines the role of China’s national identities and the impact on its foreign aid policies and practices. The multiple identities shape China’s role as a development partner in pursuit of economic cooperation with aid recipients and that seek to engage with traditional aid donors in terms of aid delivery. To explore the influence of national identities-the victimhood identity, the developing country identity and the rising responsible power identity behind China’s foreign aid policies and behaviors, this thesis uses a solid theoretical foundation-Constructivism. It analyses two empirical cases, the Fiji and the Cook Islands from 2006 to 2013, drawing from a large chunk of literature from English and Chinese publications, government documents, and relevant websites. The thesis finds that China’s aid policies and behaviors are mainly consistent with its victimhood and developing country identities. The country regards itself as a development partner rather than an aid donor and places great emphasis on mutual benefit and non-interference principles with a large proportion of its aid focused on infrastructure, construction-based projects. However, it also uncovers that China has started to address aid recipients’ demands. The country has also learned how to handle aid programs from other donor countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, which is incorporated into China’s new rising responsible power identity. The research aims to challenge the dominated rationality-based analysis and hopes to trigger further discussion about China’s aid and development.</p>

This paper presents pertinent aspects of the foreign aid policy of the State of Qatar as a Muslim emerging donor with rising soft power. The study traces and explains the evolution of Qatar’s Foreign Aid Policy (QFAP) and identifies the various critical milestones of the policy that has been successfully transformed from a small Gulf Emirate into one of the leading players on both regional and global issues including aid giving. Although, Qatar’s motivation for aid giving is quite similar to the global setting, the country’s sociocultural background and values play a vital in shaping and inspiring its aid policy. As QFAP is closely tied to the country’s active foreign policy agenda, political and security motives are heavily reflected in the country’s aid practices. In collecting both primary and secondary data this study used various qualitative methods such as face-to-face interviews with key Qatari officials and scrutinized official state documents and quoted speeches, particularly of past and present Emirs as well as other archival sources.

This book assesses the transformation of Japan's foreign aid policies within the context of the nation's changing economic and political relations throughout Asia and beyond. Challenging much of the conventional wisdom about the country's foreign assistance, the contributors shed important new light on the evolutions and goals of aid-related policies.

This chapter examines how the foreign aid policy should and should have supported families facing risks by using the case study of Myanmar. The chapter starts by addressing the issue of poverty, which continues to be the gravest risk in the developing countries, and how family could be the cause of poverty as well as the solution of poverty in foreign aid policy discussion. The situation of poverty and migration as a risk management tool are then examined in the second section of the chapter. Interviews with migrant workers in Thailand and Japan were conducted. Finally, there is a discussion about the developments of Myanmar and how the foreign aid and international community has inadequately responded to the democratization of Myanmar and to the needs of its people.

Recent studies and reports suggest that foreign aid/intervention has been somewhat futile in eradicating conflict. In this study, we develop a simultaneous donor/recipient model of foreign aid and terrorism. Thereafter, we extend our theoretical propositions through a machine learning algorithm of inductive causation. We find that terrorism increases foreign aid, however foreign assistance is futile in mitigating terrorism. Additionally, socio-economic factors influence foreign aid given by the donors. But foreign assistance is unsuccessful in enhancing the livelihoods of the underprivileged. We conclude that foreign aid policies need to be more efficient.

This article challenges the dominant narrative that overlooks the role of domestic factors in Taiwanese foreign aid in favour of politics cast at the cross-Strait and international levels. It examines the emergence and effects of partisan politics on Taipei's foreign aid policies, including aid budgets and the motivation for providing foreign aid. It argues that, rather than the cross-Strait conflict as such, it was contests and rivalries among Taiwan's political parties and government agencies – underpinned by ongoing projects of state building – that shaped the variable objectives, policies and processes of Taipei's foreign aid-giving.