Rising Powers, Global Governance and Global Ethics by Jamie Gaskarth

Author:Jamie Gaskarth [Gaskarth, Jamie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, International Relations, General, Political Economy
ISBN: 9781138826878
Google: lhjHoQEACAAJ
Goodreads: 23369304
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2015-01-15T13:31:56+00:00

trade development (assistance with trade promotion, market analysis, and development, and other forms of support for private sector businesses);

assistance in dealing with trade-related adjustment costs;

development of the productive capacities of the economy of the recipient state;

development of trade-related infrastructure; and

other trade related issues.

Although this expanded definition was generally welcomed, there were some concerns that this new agenda could lead to a reduced focus on human development in favor of more directly economically and commercially beneficial aid. It was agreed that AfT would be focused particularly on LDCs (those most in need, where the poverty reduction impact would be largest). Some specific commitments were given by leading donors as a part of the initiative but generally the regime was informal; peer pressure and moral suasion would be used to encourage support for AfT. The WTO Secretariat and the OECD were given the task of monitoring the adoption of AfT principles by aid donors and the major mechanism for this would be a biannual global AfT review.36

Thus, in the case of the AfT initiative we have one global development aid initiative in which emerging powers were centrally involved in the formulation and organization of the regime. For many, countries like China represent an example of how to benefit from trade and globalization; one Chinese government representative claimed at a review meeting that “China had developed a unique ‘China model,’”37 although what exactly this model is, or how applicable it is, is hotly debated. AfT is also particularly attractive to emerging powers as it aligns with their conception of aid and “cooperation” for mutual benefit. Accordingly China and India have been quite keen participants in the “regime,” in terms of engaging in meetings and supporting the agenda. The OECD, keen to embrace any sign of cooperation, has gone out of its way to praise the role of these countries. However, when we analyze their engagement we see that it is limited, partly because they insist on sharply distinguishing themselves from developed countries. The more specific commitments to give aid are to come from the latter, who are frequently admonished by China for not living up to global commitments. Their own aid is an optional extra, as India put it, “South-South cooperation was voluntary and was complementary to, rather than a substitute for, North-South aid” (author’s emphasis).38 Although it is fair to state that it is complementary, it is arguable that some emerging countries (especially China with its large reserves) could make more global commitments. The rising powers can sometimes be contradictory here as China’s own White Paper on aid does refer to its “international obligations,”39 but generally they refuse to accept strict commitments on aid.

In terms of concrete contributions, China is a major AfT donor and most of its aid can be defined as AfT. In 2011 its AfT was estimated at $2.468 billion (India’s AfT is less than a third of this).40 Arguably this is not so much a response to the initiative as a continuation of ongoing bilateral aid policies. China

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.