This article argues that a new generation of Political Conditionalities has emerged during the last decade. This requires an expansion of the original definition and research agenda. Beyond the traditional questions of use and effectiveness however, there is also a need to dig deeper into the dynamics surrounding political conditionalities, particularly the bargaining processes and outcomes along the aid chain -from domestic donor politics, donor harmonization fora, policy dialog spaces to the political economy of recipient institutional reform and donor-coping strategies-because they influence the set-up, use, follow-up, purpose, and effectiveness of PCs.
SUMMARYUnder the new aid approach, nongovernmental development organizations (NGOs) are expected to move from "delivery" (service delivery projects) to "leverage" (lobbying and advocacy). In line with this international tendency, the Belgian government has signed a pact with the NGO sector in which a move away from delivery and toward leverage is being proposed. Given that Belgian NGOs are heavily dependent on government funding and strongly oriented toward the "delivery" model, this pact implies that a number of NGOs will have to undergo organizational changes. This article shows that there is a major cleavage in the NGO landscape in Belgium. Some organizations clearly favor the leverage, whereas others prefer the delivery roles. Those that are more dependent on government funding tend to incline toward the leverage orientation. The attitudinal orientation toward the leverage model however does not imply that organizations are effectively willing and able to change. A number of identity and legitimacy concerns are perceived by NGOs to be important sources of organizational inertia.
Summary
Motivation
Interest in the international development co‐operation activities of subnational governments like Catalonia, Flanders, and Scotland has grown in recent years. Beyond these well‐known cases, however, we currently lack systematic evidence on the scope of the phenomenon.
Purpose
This article introduces a new dataset of 195 European regions to provide systematic information on which regions engage in international development co‐operation. The dataset includes information on institutional structures and governance modalities, aid motivations, aid modalities, and aid policies.
Methods and approach
To demonstrate the utility of our dataset, we provide descriptive insights into the phenomenon of subnational development co‐operation while at the same time suggesting questions for future research that can be addressed with the help of the dataset.
Findings
We find that subnational development co‐operation extends far beyond some well‐cited cases, given that around 70 regions have some institutional structure for development co‐operation. With relatively small budgets, regional aid delivery primarily relies on non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) and supports a variety of purposes in the sustainable development agenda, including human rights, environmental affairs, fair trade, sustainable consumption, and development education at home.
Policy implications
Being the first of its kind, the dataset advances our understanding of subnational governments as autonomous providers of development aid and their potential role in helping advance the Sustainable Development Goals in the multi‐level global development governance architecture.
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