Science and Politics of Foreign Aid: Swedish Environmental Support to the Baltic States

ISBN-13: 9789401039697 / Angielski / Miękka / 2012 / 221 str.

Bjorn Hassler

Opis

Contemporary international aid consists of a wide range of various support programs, where the end-result in many cases not only reflects the needs of the recipient country, but also the interests of the donor country. In Science and Politics of Foreign Aid - Swedish Environmental Support to the Baltic States it is shown that this particular support has been directed primarily towards areas of joint concern, such as air pollution and effluents to the Baltic Sea. Environmental problems with primarily local effects have, to a large extent, been neglected in the Swedish support program. The requirement on the Baltic recipient countries to finance a specific fraction of each joint program with local resources has furthermore drained the local national environmental budgets from resources, making it very difficult for these countries to mitigate various local environmental hazards by themselves. In contrast to many previous foreign aid studies where various donor country biases often are suggested but not empirically validated, this book gives an in-depth view of how a particular support program is influenced by specific and self-interested considerations.

Spis treści

Preface. 1: Introduction. 1. From Realism To Environmental Interdependence. 2. Altruism And Self-Interest: The Aim Of The Study. 3. The Environmental Issues. 4. Current Research. 5. Theoretical Departure. 2: Modeling Swedish Environmental Assistance. 1. Outline. 2. Perception Of Collective Good Content. 3. Definition Of A Collective Good. 4. The Cost Of Environmental Investments. 5. Collective Action On Collective Goods. 6. Potential Gains From Bilateral Support. 7. A Non-Formal Bilateral Game On Environmental Assistance. 3: Roots Of Contemporary Swedish Environmental Assistance. 1. Validating Assumptions On Preferences. 2. Dichotomization Of Swedish Foreign Aid. 3. The Practice Of Tying Aid. 4. Early Swedish Foreign Aid. 5. Swedish Environmental Cooperation In The 1970s. 6. Foreign Aid In The 1970s: To Whom And In What Way. 7. Environmental Cooperation In The 1980s. 8. Development Aid In The 1980s: Getting In Line. 9. Conclusion. 4: The Swedish Environmental Assistance Consensus. 1. The Importance Of Homogeneity Of Preferences. 2. Political Changes In The Baltic States. 3. The First Three-Year Assistance Program. 4. The Policy Of The New, Non-Socialist Government. 5. The European Imperative. 6. The Swedish Climate Strategy. 7. SAP Approval Of The Government Strategy. 8. The Revised Assistance Program. 9. Reformulation Of The CEE-Assistance Goals. 10. The New SAP Government Intensifies The Assistance. 11. Administrative Reorganization. 12. Minor Divergences. 13. Diversification Among The Baltic Recipients Of Swedish Assistance. 14. Conclusion. 5: Prioritized Environmental Issue-Areas In Estonia, Latvia, And Lithuania. 1. Focus On The Swedish Strategy. 2. Background. 3. Prioritized Environmental Issue-Areas. 4. Conclusions. 6: The Content And Administration Of Swedish Assistance To The Baltic States. 1. Decentralized Decision-Making. 2. The Significance Of The Baltic Sea Environmental Action Programme. 3. BITS Field Of Activity Before 1995. 4. SIDA Gets The Main Responsibility. 5. Assistance Administered By Other Agencies. 6. Conclusion. 7: Analysis And Conclusions. 1. Introduction. 2. Classification Of Environmental Issue-Areas. 3. The Swedish Project Portfolio. 4. Stable Social Preferences. 5. Self-Interest And Joint Gains. 6. Assistance Dynamcis. 7. Learning From Experience And Decreasing Information Gaps. 8. Geographical Proximity As A Potential Explanation. 9. Varying Stakes In The Environmental Status Of The Baltic Sea. 10. Swedish Assistance To The Baltic States; Recent Developments. 11. Summary And Future Research. 12. Tentative Policy Implications. References. Swedish Parliament Bills, Committee Reports, And Government Decisions. Printed Sources.