The Impact of Donor Engagement on Bureaucratic Ambition and Motivation in Aid Recipient Countries

Bibliographic Data

ID21505693
AuthorsSameen A Mohsin Ali (0000-0003-1062-2105, International Development Department University of Birmingham Birmingham UK, corresponding author), Tamara Moule (International Development Department University of Birmingham Birmingham UK)
Year2025
Publication date2025-04-24
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Administration and Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0271-2075 • E-ISSN: 1099-162X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/pad.2107
OpenAlexW4409766927
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited10

Critical approaches to donor programming in non‐Western settings are essential to our understanding of bilateral and multilateral development administration. Greater emphasis on political analysis of aid provision and effectiveness is welcome, but there remains little emphasis on how working with donors shapes ambitions and motivations bureaucrats working in aid‐recipient countries, and a lack of evidence on how these shifts impact state capacity over time. Bringing the literature on the politics of aid in conversation with that on bureaucratic politics and motivation, this brief report argues for investigating how donor engagement impacts bureaucratic ambition and motivation by considering its impact on autonomy and ability to effect change. The report draws on fieldwork in Pakistan to operationalise these mechanisms, but advocates for more research to investigate whether engaging with donor agencies dis engages bureaucrats from state politics and governance with consequences for state capacity and the success of donor programming

Bureaucracy · Economics · Political science · Politics · International Development and Aid · Law · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology · Religion, Society, and Development

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