More donors, more choice? To what extent did national policy space in Zambia increase between 2005 and 2021, and to what extent was the changing development cooperation landscape a driver of this change?

Heaton, Nicola (2024). More donors, more choice? To what extent did national policy space in Zambia increase between 2005 and 2021, and to what extent was the changing development cooperation landscape a driver of this change? University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This thesis investigates African national policy space, how it is evolving in a changing development cooperation landscape, and the extent to which aid - recipient governments can secure more of their objectives as a result. To explore these issues, the case of Zambia between 2005 and 2021 is utilised. The central question posed is: to what extent did national policy space in Zambia increase between 2005 and 2021, and to what extent was a changing development cooperation landscape a driver of this change? Zambia represents a ‘typical’ case, vis-à-vis the government’s relationship with Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors, and has traditionally been seen by scholars as having relatively little control of its policy agenda. The thesis demonstrates that this changed as a result of a changing development landscape. Access to the proceeds of commodity sales, commercial sources of finance and finance from a range of G20 countries meant that the government was empowered by having more ‘choices’ and could increasingly secure both its revenue objectives and other policy objectives. These were objectives which had been perceived by the government to be a trade-off with securing revenues, when it had been dependent on DAC aid. This expansion of national policy space, however, was limited. Firstly, as a result of DAC donor perceptions of Zambia’s lack of strategic political importance, the relationship remained characterised by hierarchy and prescription. The Zambian iii government was unable to shift the relationship to a more diplomatic footing, away from the donor-recipient dynamic, or to secure leverage in aid negotiations. Driven by the objective of poverty reduction, and perceiving no other substantive strategic reason for engaging with the Zambian government, DAC donors did not change their behaviour to ‘compete’ with newer development actors and sources of finance. This has important implications for understanding the changing development landscape because it implies that recipient states which are perceived by DAC donors to have little political significance will be limited in their ability to play financiers off against one another, or secure leverage in their aid relationships. Secondly, the expansion of national policy space was limited by Zambia’s rising debt levels. Debt – largely acquired as a result of Zambian borrowing in the changing development landscape – became in the medium-term a considerable constraint on the ability of the government to secure its policy objectives and thus contracted national policy space. Domestic conditions – and the political - vulnerability of Zambian politicians – made debt particularly difficult to manage. Presidents prioritised infrastructure and government spending, particularly subsidies, above achieving an agreement with the IMF, which would have also secured DAC donor funding. Furthermore, successive presidents had weakened the Zambian bureaucracy vis-à-vis fiscal management. Thus, while the development cooperation landscape offers recipient countries more ‘choices’, there is a limit to the extent that this change will expand national policy space.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):