Are the Activities of Aid Donors in Africa Neo-Colonial in Character?

Abstract

This essay critically analyses the claim that the activities of aid donors in Africa should be understood as neo-colonial. This assertion implies that aid and the activities of donors are not provided for the benefit or development of African states, but to retain structures of dominance that are ultimately to the benefit of donor states/institutions. While discussing the differing perspectives on sovereignty, this essay adopts a constructivist approach in explaining that aid, both from the global North and South that compromises the ability of a state to make its policy decisions and control its developmental narrative can create neo-colonial structures. By using Ethiopia and Zambia as case studies, this essay asserts that aid relationships are by themselves not neo-colonial. However, relational issues like historical, political, geographical and social factors, play an important role in determining the extent of a state’s agency in aid negotiations and whether such relationships become neo-colonial.