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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.

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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.  

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Danish Development Cooperation Caught between Old Tropes and New Realities

By Adam Moe Fejerskov / Part of the European Development Policy Outlook Series

Although strong in absolute growth, Danish development cooperation remains caught between the fragmentation and lack of focus that comes from pursuing an overload of priorities – some of them fueled by domestic politics and circumstance – and the new realities of both multiple crises and a strengthened Global South, conversely demanding strategic clearsight.

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Overseas Development Aid in Ireland – How Does it Compare to other EU Countries and What Can We Expect for the Future?

By Pieternella Pieterse / Part of the European Development Policy Outlook Series

Ireland’s overseas development aid programme is, and always has been, a little different from fellow long-term EU members and neighbouring countries.  Many of Ireland’s neighbours have histories of colonial occupation of counties in Asia, Africa and Latin America.  Their aid programmes often continue to reflect these ties, and the reparations many countries sought to deliver after their former colonies’ independence. As a country that was long colonised, not colonising, Ireland’s development aid programme started from a place of empathy and solidarity, with an acute sense of having experienced a population decimating famine 150 years earlier.

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