The international development sector is in a state of shock. After the new American administration’s decision to freeze all development aid, the UK government has also announced major cuts in its aid budget.
The UK and other NATO countries are under growing American pressure to raise defence spending from 2.3% to 2.5% of GDP. To comply with this demand, the UK government has decided to slash its international aid budget from 0.5% of national income to 0.3%.
There has been an outcry amongst aid practitioners concerning the devastating impacts of this British move, at a time when the largest international donor (the US) is no longer willing to send aid to resource-starved poor countries.
According to The Guardian, some of the poorest and most conflict-ridden countries in the world are now going to see their British-funded aid programmes cut by more than half. Ironically, many of these highly indebted and aid dependent countries owe their existing fragility to highly divisive and extractive policies implemented during the British colonial rule.
The British Foreign Office, however, blames the adverse impact of the pandemic on the UK economy, which has apparently compelled the government to take tough decisions, including reducing international aid.
Political pundits within the UK are also justifying aid cuts as being a better option than raising domestic taxes in response to the need to increase defence spending. UK aid cuts will not only have devastating impacts on humanitarian efforts in already distressed countries but also undermine Britain’s own strategic interests, by exacerbating destabilisation in fragile countries, and fuel unregulated migration.
It is interesting to note that even former British PMs, such as Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Theresa May, have urged the current Labour government to reconsider its decision to slash aid spending. Yet, many of these leaders were themselves proponents of neoliberal agendas, which exacerbate inequalities in poor countries.
The current British PM, like his predecessors, has also been pushing for privatisation, austerity and deregulation, which are typical neoliberal strategies, despite his seemingly socialist leanings.
International aid has always been an instrument of soft power, having served as a carrot to entice poorer countries to comply with donor interests. In recent years, the use of development and humanitarian aid to pursue strategic interests of donors has become even more evident.
Back in 2020, PM Boris Johnson announced the merger of the Department for International Development with the UK Foreign Office. Similar efforts are afoot in the US, which is thinking of absorbing USAID programmes into the State Department, to more easily use aid to pursue America’s own interests. Australia did the same way back in 2013, when its liberal PM, Tony Abbott, integrated AusAID with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
British aid cuts would not only impact bilateral development programmes, but also put a squeeze on multilateral agencies, including those affiliated with the UN system. Alongside the Trump administration’s decision to slash development funding, Britain’s aid cuts are coinciding with similar moves by other European countries, which also provide aid to the UN and to a plethora of international NGOs.
Germany’s aid budget has also shrunk over the past couple of years. The Netherlands has slashed 30% of its aid budget, while also redirecting these funds to projects that more directly contribute to Dutch interests. Belgium has cut aid by 25%, while France has reduced its aid budget by 37%.
These perturbing trends may lead global powers like China to become a more prominent player in the international development sector, which will also enable this emergent superpower to increase its already significant international influence.
What would be more desirable is for the governments of poorer countries to lessen their aid dependence, which will also make them less prone to following inequitable development models. Whether this will happen, and which countries will be more successful in turning this aid crisis into an opportunity for greater self-reliance, remains to be seen.
Source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2534105/making-britain-great-again