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Overseas Development Aid Across the Global South: Lessons from the Turkish Experience in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia

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Abstract

Beginning in 2002, there has been a gradual expansion in the volume of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) from Turkey to the Less Developed Countries in the Global South. However, the pattern of aid flows exhibits a curious variation. The Turkish Development Aid Agency (TIKA) and Islamic non-governmental organizations (NGOs) systematically work together on medical development projects across sub-Saharan Africa, yet TIKA's cooperation with Islamic NGOs remains miniscule to none in Central Asia. What explains the divergent patterns of state and non-state partnership across different regions when providing development assistance? The article argues that the regime type and the official ideology of the recipient states are critical to understand this variation. In seeking to assess the role of rising powers in the global politics of development, this comparative study thus highlights the role of non-state actors and domestic political dynamics in ODA accommodation.

Abstract

Le volume d′aide au développement apporté par la Turquie aux pays du sud les moins avancés a augmenté progressivement depuis 2002. Cependant, les profils des flux d′aide varient de façon curieuse. L′Agence Turque d′Aide au Développement (TIKA) travaille systématiquement avec les ONG islamiques pour mettre en œuvre des projets de développement médical en Afrique subsaharienne; en revanche, la coopération entre TIKA et les ONG islamiques dans le domaine d′aide à l′Asie Centrale reste faible voire non existante. Comment expliquer que les profils de coopération pour l′aide au développement entre les organisations étatiques et privées varient tant en fonction des régions du monde concernées par l’aide au développement ? Cet article soutient que le type de régime et l′idéologie officielle des pays destinataires expliquent en grande partie ces différences. En cherchant à évaluer le rôle des puissances émergentes dans la politique mondiale de développement, cette étude comparative met en lumière le rôle des acteurs non étatiques et des dynamiques politiques internes dans l′organisation de l’aide au développement.

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Notes

  1. See Kalinwoski and Cho (this issue) for South Korea as another emerging power ‘beyond the BRICs’ that is engaged in ODA.

  2. In an interview with Charlie Rose on 23 September 2010, Gűl is quoted as saying ‘soft power is [em]powering Turkey … and Turkey is becoming a source of inspiration for the region’. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRzaGlmUGC4, accessed on 28 September 2010. For Davutoğlu's argument on Turkey's use of soft power, see Davutoğlu 2008.

  3. In this article, Islamic NGOs refer to organizations that justify their motivation and campaigns using a discourse based on Islamic teachings derived from the Qur’an (the Holy Book of the Muslims) and the Hadith (teachings of the Prophet Mohammad).

  4. Personalistic authoritarian regimes refer to political systems where ‘heads of government rule arbitrarily, exercising authority mainly through patronage networks and coercion rather than through institutions and formal rules’ (Gasiorowski, 1990).

  5. The role of non-governmental actors in aid provision is not a new phenomenon. Indeed, NGOs that receive funding from ODA agencies, or those that independently provide humanitarian assistance to communities in LDCs are quite common in the Global North (Pratt et al, 2006). Similarly, profit-seeking private actors have frequently worked in partnership with official development agencies in infrastructure building projects (Pessoa, 2008). In some cases, the overall volume of aid provided by private actors often surpasses the official assistance provided by individual governments (Adelman, 2009). However, unlike the cooperation between public and private actors in DAC countries, the cooperation between official aid agencies and their non-state partners in emerging donors exhibits a curious variation across distinct geographic contexts.

  6. Some argue that this strategy could maximize aid effectiveness and facilitate economic and political capacity building. Proponents of PPPs further argue that this could reduce costs of aid provision by rationalizing resources (Pflug, 2002), while maximizing the public accountability of overseas aid through a growing involvement of the civilian sector (Hirata, 2002). Others find that privatization of aid is unlikely to yield promising results (Pessoa, 2008).

  7. Gradually, this debate has pushed policy-practitioners to reconsider alternative mechanisms, which gave way to a new discourse that emphasizes good-governance practices (World Bank, 1998; Burnside and Dollar, 2000; Collier and Dollar, 2002). According to this approach, institution building for sound economic policy formulation is the key to maximize the effectiveness of ODA.

  8. TIKA was founded by the government decree no. 480 on 24 October 1992.

  9. The law no. 4668, entitled the Law on the Organization and the Duties of Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (Türk İşbirliği ve Kalkınma İdaresi Başkanlığı Teşkilat ve Görevleri Hakkỳnda Kanun), enacted on 28 May 1999, stipulates this clearly.

  10. See Basbakanlik 2005/11 Sayili Genelge (Announcement by the Office of the Prime Minister no. 2005/11). 20 April 2011.

  11. TIKA 2009 Annual Report (2010), p. 20. In addition, the government decree no. 656, which introduces some important updates on cooperation with NGOs, includes a section on this under Article 3ç. See http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2011/11/20111102-1.htm.

  12. TIKA Development Assistance Reports 2005–2009. See p.11 in 2009 report.

  13. TIKA Annual Reports 2005–2009. See 2009 Report, p.17.

  14. See ‘Turkey-Africa relations’ accessible at http://www.mfa.gov.tr/turkey-africa-relations.en.mfa. According to the same report, ‘Turkey is also a member of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Partners Forum (IGAD) since 2008 and Turkish Embassy in Abuja is accredited to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) since 2005. Furthermore, Turkish Embassy in Dar-es-Salaam is accredited to the East African Community (EAC) in 2010.’

  15. As evidenced by official documents and accounts on their respective websites, these organizations use a predominantly Islamic discourse to justify their aid campaigns.

  16. See http://www.ihh.org.tr/rapor-ve-belgeler/tr/.

  17. For example, see ‘Sudan’da Isigi Beklerken’ (http://www.ihh.org.tr/sudanda-isigi-beklerken/); ‘Onlar Bizim Kardeslerimiz’ (http://www.ihh.org.tr/onlar-bizim-kardeslerimiz/); ‘Allah Var Problem Yok’ (http://www.ihh.org.tr/sgk-gorevlisi-hasret-aygun/); ‘Hemsire Medine Balsak’ (http://www.ihh.org.tr/hemsire-medine-balsak/).

  18. ‘Sudan Saglik Bakani’ndan IHH’ye tesekkur’ (http://www.ihh.org.tr/12824/).

  19. See http://www.sondakika.com/haber-sudan-saglik-bakani-yardimcisi-dr-isameddin-2691273/.

  20. See the Togolese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Elliot Ohin's speech delivered in Istanbul http://www.republicoftogo.com/Toutes-les-rubriques/Economie/Attention-la-Turquie-debarque-en-Afrique.

  21. See ‘Faure Gnassingbé à la prière de la Tabaski’ http://www.presidencetogo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=974&Itemid=34 and ‘L’entrée dans la nouvelle année sous la bénédiction de Dieu’ http://www.presidencetogo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1035&Itemid=34.

  22. See ‘Inauguration d’un nouvel hôpital moderne à Lomé’ http://www.presidencetogo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1240&Itemid=34 and ‘La foire contra le sida’ http://www.presidencetogo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1915&Itemid=53.

  23. See ‘Dr Songné Badjona: nous rassurons que le matériel médical du projet Santé/BIDC est de qualité’ http://www.presidencetogo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1686&Itemid=53 and ‘Lancement à Lomé du Partenariat International pour la Santé et les Initiatives Apparentées’ http://www.presidencetogo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1345&Itemid=53.

  24. See http://www.ihh.org.tr/togo-katarakt-notlari.

  25. In Kazakhstan, these policy changes were undertaken by President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Similarly, in Turkmenistan, the reforms were undertaken by a series of decrees issued by President Saparmurat Niyazov, and after 2007 by the new President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.

  26. Because of systematic attempts to ban or curb the activities of these groups, some observers accuse the current regime of an open hostility toward religious diversity in Kazakhstan. See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/29/kazakhstan-restrictive-religion-law_n_986763.html.

  27. TIKA Annual Reports, 2005–2009. See 2009 Report, p. 111.

  28. These projects were blended with a mixture of others that emphasized cultural ties, including programs on Turkish language and training assistance to religious organizations (TIKA Annual Reports, 2005–2009. See 2009 Report, p. 111).

  29. Moreover, the reform plan in 2000 was not implemented as the government continued to shut down hospitals to reduce public health expenditure, and introduced user payments to partially cover the treatment costs (Rechel and McKee, 2005, p. 24).

  30. See http://www.ihh.org.tr/kurban/en/.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Matthias vom Hau, James Scott and four anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions.

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Apaydin, F. Overseas Development Aid Across the Global South: Lessons from the Turkish Experience in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia. Eur J Dev Res 24, 261–282 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2012.5

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