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Unfulfilled Mandate? Exploring the Electoral Discourse of International Development Aid in UK Westminster Elections 1945–2010

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Abstract

Insufficient research attention has been paid to the way that electoral politics shape public policy on overseas development aid. Accordingly, this study makes an original contribution by examining party politicisation, issue-salience and the policy discourse of international aid in the principal parties’ manifestos in post-war UK state-wide elections. The findings show that over the past five decades a trend of increasing issue-salience has been accompanied by inter-party differences in policy framing, with the parties of the Left attaching greater priority to promoting international equality, articulating aid as an entitlement linked to rights and the elimination of poverty, and employing tropes such as humanitarianism, democracy and good governance. Crucially, comparison of manifesto discourse and subsequent government policy raises questions over parties’ accountability, for, having secured a mandate on specific aid proposals, a key disconnect is seen to operate between the rhetoric of aid and policy delivery.

Trop peu d’attention scientifique est accordée à la manière dont la politique électorale influe sur la politique publique d’aide au développement. Cette étude apporte une contribution originale en examinant la politisation partisane, l’importance accordée aux enjeux et le discours politique concernant l’aide internationale dans les manifestes des principaux partis candidats aux élections générales du Royaume Uni d’après guerre. Les résultats indiquent une tendance, depuis une cinquantaine d’années, à une augmentation de l’importance accordée aux enjeux, accompagnée par des différences entre partis dans la formulation de leurs politiques, les partis de gauche donnant plus de priorité à la promotion de l’égalité internationale, considérant l’aide comme un droit naturel lié à d’autres droits, et à l’élimination de la pauvreté – usant de tropes liés à l’humanitarisme, la démocratie et la bonne gouvernance. Fait crucial, la comparaison des discours des manifestes avec la politique gouvernementale soulève des questions concernant la responsabilité des partis car – ces derniers étant mandatés sur des propositions d’aide spécifiques – il existe un décalage important entre la rhétorique de l’aide et la mise en œuvre des politiques.

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Notes

  1. In definitional terms, ‘development aid’ (alternatively, ‘international aid’ or ‘overseas development assistance’, ODA) can be defined as policy associated with state-directed loans, grants and assistance allotted to developing countries, derived (wholly or in part) from the public sector, given with the aim of supporting economic and social development (Cf. OECD, 1985).

  2. Inter alia, terms, conditions and incentives incumbent on the aid recipient and related to, for example, tackling corruption, adhering to democratic principles and promoting sustainable development. For a discussion see, for example, Nachmias (1999).

  3. Defined in terms of share of the popular vote.

  4. Where necessary, hardcopy-only versions of early manifestos were transcribed. The software used was Nvivo 9.

  5. See http://manifestoproject.wzb.eu/

  6. Eleven incidences.

  7. With the exception of Marshal Plan aid from the United States to the United Kingdom.

  8. Chi squared=74.103, df=2, P=0.00016573.

  9. Chi squared=17.393, df=2, P=0.00016717.

  10. Chi squared=8.385, df=2, P=0.01510847.

  11. Chi squared=12.937, df=2, P=0.00155155.

  12. Chi squared=10.111, df=2, P=0.00637418.

  13. Not significantly significant.

  14. Aid conditional on, for example, the recipient's use of UK contractors and/or suppliers (Cf. Kemp and Kojima, 1985).

  15. Neil Marten MP, Hansard, 20 February 1980, Columns 464–465.

  16. Chi squared=10.75, df=2, P=0.00463092.

  17. Chi squared=22.66, df=2, P=0.00001201.

  18. See, for example, Judd (1969).

  19. Chi squared=10.84, df=2, P=0.00442715.

  20. Chi squared=13.515, df=2, P=0.00116213.

  21. For example, ‘greater transparency will also bolster initiatives to measure the performance of different donor countries and compare the effectiveness of their aid effort’ (Conservative Party, 2010b, p. 16).

  22. In terms of the number of quasi-sentences.

  23. The equation for the correlation coefficient is:

    Where x and y are the sample means average (data series 1) and average (data series 2). (A perfection correlation produces an efficient of +1.00; a perfect negative correlation produces a coefficient of −1.00.)

  24. The government position is ‘the Bill is ready and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows’. This is widely interpreted as meaning the commitment will not be met. www.dfid.gov.uk/News/press-statements/ (accessed 12 July 2012).

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The author acknowledges the helpful and constructive comments of two anonymous referees when revising an earlier draft of this article.

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Chaney, P. Unfulfilled Mandate? Exploring the Electoral Discourse of International Development Aid in UK Westminster Elections 1945–2010. Eur J Dev Res 25, 252–270 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2012.34

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