Beyond Aid: Policy Coherence and Europe’s Development Policy

Abstract

Published by Palgrave Macmillan This chapter discusses the evolution of the concept of policy coherence fordevelopment (PCD) since the beginning of the twenty-first century. It findsthat, despite rhetorical commitments made in various contexts, results havebeen modest, as governments in the North have found it difficult to go beyondtheir short-term political and economic interests. This chapter concentratesnot only on explanations related to the widened agenda in internationaldevelopment and the domestic structures within individual countries, butalso on two additional significant factors. First, the search for PCD can beunderstood as a rhetorical attempt to shift responsibilities from aid agenciesto actors involved in other public policy areas affecting developing countries. Second, the two actors pushing the PCD agenda forward – the DevelopmentAssistance Committee (DAC) and the European Commission (EC) – have had otherinterests beyond development effectiveness. The EC has been concernedwith projecting a common European vision in international developmentand increasing the visibility of the European Union (EU) in internationalaffairs, while the DAC has tried to protect its role and relevance in the field of international development.