When did the present meaning of aid take shape?
By Fonju Ndemesah
The significance of aid in the development discourse pushes any keen observer to trace the historical origin of what many call today aid. It is very frequent to read pages from media organs echoing the millions of dollars handed to x or y country to alleviate poverty and to foster democracy. But how did all this process we all find normal today come into being?
Since from the origin, the human relations has been characterized by encounters and movement, in which we can trace aspects of support and interdependence. Aid, as we now find in the mainstream discourse, can be seen as a transformation of the mutual support that has always been the driving force of this dynamic human relation. When did the present meaning of aid take shape? Who were/are the key actors in the aid debate?
Looking backward
The present dominant paradigm of aid can be dated back to the colonial period. The “mission civilizatrice” for the colonizers and colonial optimist historians, had a presumed “philanthropic” motive, which was to help to remove the colonized from their state of “backwardness” to modernity. This could be done only if the modern could assist the backward nations to climb the development ladder.
However, the present usage of the term aid can be traced back to the end of the Second World War. The key to the aid policy is the Marshall Plan, which protracted to the cold war period under the cover of Truman policy. Officially named the European Recovery Program (ERP), The Marshall Plan was named after Secretary of State, George Marshall. It aimed at strengthening European economies after the devastation caused by the wars. The implicit motive was also to prevent the spread of Soviet Communism. During the Cold war period, it became a political tool under the Truman Doctrine. The doctrine was clearly stated by President Truman in his 1949 address:
"In addition, we will provide military advice and equipment to free nations which will cooperate with us in the maintenance of peace and security. Fourth, we must embark on a bold new program for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of underdeveloped areas. More than half the people of the world are living in conditions approaching misery. Their food is inadequate. They are victims of disease. Their economic life is primitive and stagnant. Their poverty is a handicap and a threat both to them and to more prosperous areas. For the first time in history, humanity possesses the knowledge and skill to relieve the suffering of these people”.[i]
All through the four years of the Marshall Plan, countries that joined the Organization for European Economic Co-operation were given help in the after war recovery. In 1951, the Marshall Plan was replaced by the Mutual Security Plan.
During the cold war era (1960 -1980) most of the aid was directed towards supporting satellite states. With the end of the Cold war, the discourse moved to poverty alleviation.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
The historical roots of the present dominant vision of aid can be traced back to the year 1950, when the idea of putting a target for aid to Least Developed Countries (LDC) was proposed in the First UN Development Decade of the 1960s.[ii]
The growing importance of aid in global process and the rise of the concept of “burden-sharing among donors”[iii] led to discussion among the donors in the Development Assistance Committee (DAC). The Pearson Report that follows made clear “the total flow of financial resources from richer countries on the one hand, and public aid on the other hand, with specific target for the two categories (1 per cent of GNP for total flows and 0.7 percent of GNP for public aid).[iv]
Because the recommendations of the Pearson Report did not fully reach the implementation stage, on March 1980, the first Brandt Report was published. The latter rekindled most of the points put forward earlier by the Pearson Report. The Brandt Report, for example, recommended an increase in the transfer of resources from the rich to the poor countries as a means to reduce global inequality. In this enterprise, ODA was to play a very important role. The Brandt Report expected that “programme lending be related to well conceived, clearly-defined development programmes”.[v] In addition, development aid should be monitored.
The present institution that governs aid business is the The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The origin of this institution can clearly be trace from the Marshall Plan. The Organization was created in 1961; it is presently made up of 34 countries.
In 1961, the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), which was created to control the administration of the Marshall Plan became The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The official founding members are: Austria , Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States.
From this period, the members of this organization have increased. In 1989, with the fall of the Berlin wall, the political consequences of this event brought in some central and eastern European countries. In 1990, with the reforms, some countries joining the European Union expressed their wish to be part of the organization.
Nowadays about 80-85% of developmental aid comes from government sources as official development assistance (ODA). Most official development assistance (ODA) came from the 23 members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC).
Despite the increasing importance of aid in the development business as portrayed by the dynamic historical transformations of leading institutions and perspectives, one thing still stands out clear. In many decision circles where aid policies are shaped, the to-be-helped are always absent. When they are considered; they are regarded in a top-down way and, most often, as simple implementers of tied aid coming from” benevolent”, rich countries.
Sources
[i] Harry S. Truman Inaugural Address, Thursday, January 20, 1949. http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres53.html, Visited on 27 November, 2013
[ii] Hans W. Singer and Javed A. Ansari (1992) Rich and Poor Countries, London: Routledge
[iii] Ibid
[iv] Ibid
[v] Ibid
The significance of aid in the development discourse pushes any keen observer to trace the historical origin of what many call today aid. It is very frequent to read pages from media organs echoing the millions of dollars handed to x or y country to alleviate poverty and to foster democracy. But how did all this process we all find normal today come into being?
Since from the origin, the human relations has been characterized by encounters and movement, in which we can trace aspects of support and interdependence. Aid, as we now find in the mainstream discourse, can be seen as a transformation of the mutual support that has always been the driving force of this dynamic human relation. When did the present meaning of aid take shape? Who were/are the key actors in the aid debate?
Looking backward
The present dominant paradigm of aid can be dated back to the colonial period. The “mission civilizatrice” for the colonizers and colonial optimist historians, had a presumed “philanthropic” motive, which was to help to remove the colonized from their state of “backwardness” to modernity. This could be done only if the modern could assist the backward nations to climb the development ladder.
However, the present usage of the term aid can be traced back to the end of the Second World War. The key to the aid policy is the Marshall Plan, which protracted to the cold war period under the cover of Truman policy. Officially named the European Recovery Program (ERP), The Marshall Plan was named after Secretary of State, George Marshall. It aimed at strengthening European economies after the devastation caused by the wars. The implicit motive was also to prevent the spread of Soviet Communism. During the Cold war period, it became a political tool under the Truman Doctrine. The doctrine was clearly stated by President Truman in his 1949 address:
"In addition, we will provide military advice and equipment to free nations which will cooperate with us in the maintenance of peace and security. Fourth, we must embark on a bold new program for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of underdeveloped areas. More than half the people of the world are living in conditions approaching misery. Their food is inadequate. They are victims of disease. Their economic life is primitive and stagnant. Their poverty is a handicap and a threat both to them and to more prosperous areas. For the first time in history, humanity possesses the knowledge and skill to relieve the suffering of these people”.[i]
All through the four years of the Marshall Plan, countries that joined the Organization for European Economic Co-operation were given help in the after war recovery. In 1951, the Marshall Plan was replaced by the Mutual Security Plan.
During the cold war era (1960 -1980) most of the aid was directed towards supporting satellite states. With the end of the Cold war, the discourse moved to poverty alleviation.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
The historical roots of the present dominant vision of aid can be traced back to the year 1950, when the idea of putting a target for aid to Least Developed Countries (LDC) was proposed in the First UN Development Decade of the 1960s.[ii]
The growing importance of aid in global process and the rise of the concept of “burden-sharing among donors”[iii] led to discussion among the donors in the Development Assistance Committee (DAC). The Pearson Report that follows made clear “the total flow of financial resources from richer countries on the one hand, and public aid on the other hand, with specific target for the two categories (1 per cent of GNP for total flows and 0.7 percent of GNP for public aid).[iv]
Because the recommendations of the Pearson Report did not fully reach the implementation stage, on March 1980, the first Brandt Report was published. The latter rekindled most of the points put forward earlier by the Pearson Report. The Brandt Report, for example, recommended an increase in the transfer of resources from the rich to the poor countries as a means to reduce global inequality. In this enterprise, ODA was to play a very important role. The Brandt Report expected that “programme lending be related to well conceived, clearly-defined development programmes”.[v] In addition, development aid should be monitored.
The present institution that governs aid business is the The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The origin of this institution can clearly be trace from the Marshall Plan. The Organization was created in 1961; it is presently made up of 34 countries.
In 1961, the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), which was created to control the administration of the Marshall Plan became The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The official founding members are: Austria , Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States.
From this period, the members of this organization have increased. In 1989, with the fall of the Berlin wall, the political consequences of this event brought in some central and eastern European countries. In 1990, with the reforms, some countries joining the European Union expressed their wish to be part of the organization.
Nowadays about 80-85% of developmental aid comes from government sources as official development assistance (ODA). Most official development assistance (ODA) came from the 23 members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC).
Despite the increasing importance of aid in the development business as portrayed by the dynamic historical transformations of leading institutions and perspectives, one thing still stands out clear. In many decision circles where aid policies are shaped, the to-be-helped are always absent. When they are considered; they are regarded in a top-down way and, most often, as simple implementers of tied aid coming from” benevolent”, rich countries.
Sources
[i] Harry S. Truman Inaugural Address, Thursday, January 20, 1949. http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres53.html, Visited on 27 November, 2013
[ii] Hans W. Singer and Javed A. Ansari (1992) Rich and Poor Countries, London: Routledge
[iii] Ibid
[iv] Ibid
[v] Ibid