Aid Effectiveness in Small Island Developing States: The Case of Vanuatu

Abstract

In 2005, aid donor and recipient states signed the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, a major step in creating a global framework based on more equal relations between these countries. It is based on three interrelated core principles: ownership (recipient countries define their own development policies), alignment (donors support these strategies) and harmonization (donors coordinate among themselves). However, more than 15 years later, the implementation of these principles has been globally disappointing. The aid effectiveness agenda and the Global Partnership for effective development cooperation (GPEDC) are facing a legitimacy and relevancy crisis at a time when aid effectiveness is crucial to face increased development and humanitarian challenges in low- and middle- income countries. Faced with this puzzle, this thesis responds to the question: To what extent are the Paris Declaration principles pertinent?