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Trumpist Before it was Cool: How the Czech Far Right Drove Aid Cuts from Fringe to Mainstream

By Ondřej Horký-Hlucháň

The current dismantling of the post-war aid system owes a lot to far-right politicians and political parties, with Donald Trump as the current leader of the pack. The Finns Party discussed in this EADI Blog is a prime example of their impact once they secure minister seats. The Czech case, however, shows that significant aid cuts can be easily initiated from a few parliamentary benches.

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Navigating the Tipping Point: Four Futures for Global Development Cooperation

By Stephan Klingebiel and Andy Sumner / Development and Development Policy in the Trump Era Series

The global system of development cooperation is in a state of flux. In a new policy brief we discuss how and why the very foundations of international aid and development are being shaken by geopolitical shifts, contested norms, and institutional upheaval. The brief argues that the crisis is not a mere cyclical downturn, or nor is it only about money, but a fundamental reordering of the global development landscape. In short, a “tipping point” in the sense of a dramatic moment when incremental changes coalesce into a transformative shift, for better or worse, is in the offing. We ask what might come next.

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The End of Development Aid?

By Aram Ziai / Development and Development Policy in the Trump Era Series

In the last few months, our object of research has seen some dramatic changes. I am referring to the de-facto dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after the inauguration of President trump in January 2025. The USA has been by far the largest donor of Official Development Assistance (ODA) during the past decades (although in relation to its GDP it has been among the less generous). In February 2025, the Trump administration has announced to eliminate more than 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts and 60 billion US-$ in assistance.

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The New Washington Dissensus: Trump’s Five Principles for Development Cooperation

By Andy Sumner and Stephan Klingebiel

The Trump administration has set out to radically reshape U.S. foreign aid, pushing the “America First” agenda to ensure every dollar spent abroad serves American interests.

The latest indication comes in the form of a 36-question survey sent to international organizations and NGOs that are USAID recipients, effectively forcing them to justify their alignment with U.S. sovereignty, national security, and economic interests. This questionnaire is more than bureaucratic red tape—it is a litmus test for ideological compliance with Trumpism.

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Decolonizing Policy Advice: The Oxymoronic Nature of Danish Researchers Advising a Danish Ministry on a Danish Plan for Africa

By Adam Moe Fejerskov, Mikkel Funder and Nauja Kleist / part of our “Share your Decolonising Story” project

Denmark has a new strategy for engaging with Africa. In this blog follow some reflections on how we at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) collaborated with colleagues in African research institutions to turn the usual North-driven ”Policy Brief” on its head. Because who gets to influence development policy in European capitals? Who should influence development policy in European capitals? And should European capitals at all be making strategies and plans for Africa?

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