Building global policies: development assistance, a source of inspiration?

Highlights :

- Despite the two disadvantages of being intertwined with colonial policy, and of addressing far-off targets, official development assistance grew into a global policy in order to establish its local legitimacy.

- The search for legitimacy gave rise to increasing advocacy work and strategic productions, originally intended for developing countries, which turned into a source of inspiration for the domestic policies of donor countries.

- The history of global development assistance policy shows a contrast between very old instruments and very recent objectives, following a long consolidation process.

- The global nature of development assistance also means that it constitutes a form of multidimensional policy. Norms developed into a very complex group and their role very much increased, acting to constrain the very objectives of development assistance.

Note : cet article a été publié, dans sa version française, dans le revue Afrique contemporaine (en savoir plus)