Risk, politics, and development: Lessons from the UK's democracy aid

Susan Dodsworth and Nic Cheeseman

Public Administration & Development, 2018, vol. 38, issue 2, 53-64

Abstract: Political risks are inescapable in development. Donors keep them in check with a range of tools, but existing options provide little guidance about how political forms of risk can—or should—shape programme design. This paper presents a novel framework that offers practical guidance on how to think about and manage some of these risks. This is based on a review of programmes delivered by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, which provides a specific type of aid: democracy assistance. Political forms of risk have a strong influence on that aid, so it provides a valuable example. Our framework centres on two trade†offs inherent in the provision of aid for democracy support. The first relates to the type of approach employed in a programme; should it focus on a thematic issue or a specific event, or should it focus primarily on an institution and its processes? The second concerns the scope of a programme in terms of who it includes. Understanding the costs and benefits of these trade†offs will help development practitioners to make decisions about political risks in a more rigorous and transparent way and, potentially, to shift from a culture of risk aversion, to one of informed risk†taking.

Date: 2018
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https://doi.org/10.1002/pad.1822

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:padxxx:v:38:y:2018:i:2:p:53-64

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