Power and Politics in Weak States: Emerging Paradigm Shifts for Donors?

Abstract

Weak states—and the complex configurations of power and politics in these—pose enormous challenges for development cooperation agencies. Recognising that traditional aid approaches have had only marginal effects in such settings, the donor community has made a remarkable move away from rather naïve and idealistic approaches, towards at least intellectual acknowledgement of the importance of structural and institutional factors, the power relations and the political settings in which donors operate. Power analysis and ‘drivers of change’ studies are becoming mainstream tools, though it is less clear how they can be applied. Clear tensions and dilemmas are emerging from this new orientation. The authors discuss how far donors will be able to act upon the new ‘realist’ position, given their political mandate to aspire for noble goals and to spend increasing sums of money.

Keywords:

• power
• politics
• donors
• governance
• assistance to weak states