Development Policy – Debating Development Research

14/01/2025

Navigating France’s Political Landscape: Implications for International Development Aid

By Hugo Pilkington / Part of the European Development Policy Outlook Series

Amid a welter of political drama, and after having successfully hosted the Summer 2024 Olympic games, France is struggling to find a stable government. The country still has no budget for 2025. This is not the norm (the last time anything roughly similar happened was in 1979) but can be said to proceed from the unusual events of Mid-2024. The current political conundrum arose on the heels of a snap election called, in a surprise move, by Emmanuel Macron, following disastrous results for his own political movement – Ensemble pour la République – during the European elections of June 9, 2024.

10/12/202414/01/2025

Where is UK Development Policy Headed Under the New Government?

By Andy Sumner / Part of the European Development Policy Outlook Series

Chancellor unmoved by cuts of aid budget

The headline is that the UK aid budget was cut by £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion). Despite the flags, it seems the Chancellor was unwilling or unable to provide additional funds to offset the billions of pounds of the UK’s aid budget spent on supporting refugees inside the UK. This makes her the first Labou r chancellor to cut aid below levels of a prior Conservative government.

26/11/2024

Beyond Mergers: Charting Germany’s Development Policy in a Changing World

By Stephan Klingebiel / Part of the European Development Policy Outlook Series

Germany’s political landscape is in a state of flux. Following the coalition’s collapse, key policy decisions will play an important role—not only in the upcoming campaign phase but also in shaping the groundwork for a future coalition agreement that will guide the next federal government. While development policy may not be a top priority, it is under considerable pressure.

08/10/202408/10/2024

EU Development Policy in the Security Trap

By Werner Raza / Part of the European Development Policy Outlook Series

The new EU Commission is forcing EU development policy under the yoke of its security strategy. By overestimating its global negotiating power, it risks not only to harm Europe’s long-term interests, but to exacerbate geopolitical tensions.

17/09/2024

Finland’s Development Aid Plunges amid Far-Right Take-Over of Policy Agendas

By Eija Ranta and Martta Kaskinen / Part of the European Development Policy Outlook Series

The boost in popularity of the populist right-wing Finns party has meant a bumpy ride for Finland’s development affairs. With far-right extremists in the government, Finland’s development aid is plunging. In this blog post, we recall the historical peculiarities of Finland’s path from an aid recipient to becoming an international development donor and shed light on the contemporary challenges and controversies of Finland’s stance to development issues, demonstrating a drastic change to earlier commitments.