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'The Commission and Development Policy: Bureaucratic Politics in EU Aid from the Lome Leap Forward to the Difficulties of Adapting to the 21st Century' in Karin Arts, Anna K. Dickson (eds.) 'EU Development Cooperation: From Model to Symbol'

Book/book chapter

Written by Adrian Hewitt

It is increasingly recognized that EU development cooperation policy has failed to meet its stated aims. This article is part of a book asking the obvious and important question: if the policy doesn't work, why bother with it? The authors assess why EU development policy has become largely ineffective, citing among the external causal factors the liberalisation of trade, and the growing influence of US and international actors such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund upon EU policy. It also considers contributing factors within the EU such as the enlargement of its membership and the resulting shifts in priorities. It is this analysis of internal and external factors affecting the decline of EU development policy that makes this study both innovative and unique. The book brings together an impressive range of contributors from different disciplines resulting in a thorough and intelligent assessment of the debate.

Adrian Hewitt and Kaye Whiteman