Saint &; Sinners : Official Development Aid & its Dynamics in a Historical & Comparative Perspective

Since 1970 the 0.7 per cent of GNI as Official Development Assistance (ODA) has been universally accepted by the UN and the rich donor nations of the OECD. This study is a comparative and historical analysis of the degree to which aid transfers have conformed to the UN aid norms. Through detailed national studies based on archival materials as well as current debates in the press and in parliaments, the book discusses why only a small number of countries have lived up to the norm; in other words, why some countries have been striving for the Glory of the Saint, while most have continued to sin. These studies provide a nuanced view of the nexus between international norms and pressures, domestic welfare and political systems and donor behaviour, and on whether states give aid for reasons of altruism or realpolitik. As the studies show, aid giving was generally moved by both concerns, but often in very complex ways. One key interpretation of this book is that national foreign policy legacies, orientations and priorities constitute the crucial focal point for understanding how domestic and international impulses have influenced and shaped levels of aid giving.