“Securitized” UK aid projects in Africa: Evidence from Kenya, Nigeria and South Sudan

Ivica Petríková · Melita Lazell

15 citations0/0 files storedDevelopment Policy Review

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

International Development and Aid Defense, Military, and Policy Studies Peacebuilding and International Security

Abstract

Abstract Motivation In 2020, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) was merged with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). This policy move strengthens the trend to “securitize” development, whereby the provision of aid is motivated by national security concerns. Purpose Many researchers have raised concerns about the securitization of aid and its consequences for development, but little research has examined its impact on aid‐recipient countries. Approach and Methods This study evaluates 144 securitized aid projects implemented by DFID between 2000 and 2018 in Kenya, Nigeria and South Sudan, using the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) evaluation criteria of relevance, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability. Findings Our analysis finds that although most of the projects assessed were “relevant”, i.e. formally aligned with recipient and funders’ objectives, many struggled to achieve their intended outputs (“effectiveness”). Few of the projects had a positive “impact”. We conclude that the securitized projects reviewed did not significantly strengthen the recipient countries’ institutions, stability, or security but had some negative side effects. Policy Implications In view of the merger of DFID with the FCO and the decision to reduce aid from 0.7% to 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI), the UK is likely to draw an even closer connection between domestic security priorities and its development aid. In view of our empirical findings, the UK government needs to be more aware of the limitations of development interventions undertaken in the name of security and consider other means of enabling development.

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 15 citations exist upstream.

References

1998Security: A New Framework for Analysis 2012Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact 2002Global governance and the new wars: the merging of development and security 2012Looking Like a State: Techniques of Persistent Failure in State Capability for Implementation 2013The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness 2009Can Development Aid Contribute to Social Cohesion after Civil War? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Post-Conflict Liberia 2005The shifting politics of foreign aid 2010Development and Security: Origins and Future

Cited by

2023UK aid to Africa: ‘nationalisation’ and neoliberalism 2023Undoing Aid: UK Aid Cuts, Development Relationships and Resourcing Futures in Malawi 2023Global Britain and UK Aid Policy Towards Africa 2024UK aid is failing: suggestions for an impactful, coherent and globally aware development practice 2024The Nationalisation of Aid

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.