• Aid harmonisation

Aid harmonisation

This synthesis report looks into the impact of donor harmonisation on democratisation processes in recipient countries. It is based on case studies in Mali, Nicaragua, Peru and Vietnam, and explores the political implications of the aid effectiveness agenda and particularly of the new aid modalities.

The authors argue that while donors and governments engage in a closer relationship in defining policies, other stakeholders such as Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), parliaments, public oversight institutions, the media and sub-national governments may become increasingly marginalised, which could hamper the democratic process and lead to negative “side-effects” for democratic ownership and domestic accountability. The study stresses the necessity to address country specific political dimensions and the overall quality of compliance with the Paris Declaration commitments, especially regarding downwards accountability and “good” ownership. Furthermore, in order to become development friendly actors, the research states that aid agencies should be institutionally adapted to political challenges, particularly in terms of organisation, behaviour, staff profiles, aid instruments and practices.

Key concluding points include:

• the Paris Declaration enshrines the potential for a more political perspective on changing aid relationships
  
• if democratic practices are to deepen, it is paramount to tie the “spirit” to internationally agreed principles of social inclusion and political participation
  
• there is an opportunity to strengthen horizontal mechanisms of oversight and control systems if donors use them to channel and audit their own funds. If a deepening of democratic practices is to happen, donors have to consider the secondary effects when designing their country strategies and programmes
  
• if aid delivery is to become democratisation-friendly, the Paris commitments should involve more than just rubber-stamping governments as legitimate. Not only their quantity matters, but also the quality
  
•  international aid has moved to a much more systemic vision of development where citizenship and democracy are moving centre-stage. The stakes for the aid effectiveness agenda are high, but deep changes are necessary not only in recipient countries.
  

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