From ‘international’ to ‘global’ development in the UK? Recent evidence from political party manifestos.

David Hulme and Eleni Sifaki

Abstract 

This paper explores whether UK political parties have moved from an understanding of development cooperation as international development/foreign aid, towards a more ‘global developmental’ approach. Its analytical framework is based on the components of the Commitment to Development Index (CDI), with an additional theme of ‘addressing global inequalities’. The empirical sections examine the election manifestos of the UK’s major political parties since 1997 to see if there is any evidence that they are beginning to recognise that development cooperation is about much more than foreign aid and that it will entail cross-sectoral, ‘joined up’ policy analysis and action. In the conclusion the different speeds at which parties are moving are compared and an initial attempt is made at explaining these differences.

Keywords 

global development; international development; party manifestos; beyond aid

 

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