The Nationalisation of Aid

Rooted in the analysis of UK development policy and practice in the previous chapters, this chapter introduces a new framework for understanding UK development policy and aid, which we call the nationalisation of development. This framework has five dimensions which are presented and explored in this chapter. These are the lack of a coherent strategy, a strong emphasis on directing ODA towards British private investment and national interest, the use of ODA to ‘protect’ borders, and the politicisation and downgrading of development policy and aid, with the latter resulting in diminished soft power and negative effects on aid recipients. Additionally, the chapter concludes that development aid inherently falls short of addressing the structures underpinning global development challenges. The chapter compares findings from the UK with the development policies of three other major OECD donors—the US, Germany, and France. Despite variations, the embeddedness of development programmes in the neoliberal paradigm and the growing use of aid to address migration are common among all four donors.