Politics of Foreign Aid and Diplomacy of Bangladesh: Evolution and Assessment
a Md. Saiful Islam, b M. Aynul Islam
a Lecturer, Department of International Relations, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University, Gopalganj-8100, Bangladesh.
b Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Abstract
As a tool of diplomatic maneuver in pursing foreign policy objectives in line with strategic and geopolitical interests, foreign aid profoundly plays crucial roles attaching the political dynamics. Likewise, it also includes respective motives and logics of recipients’ country perspective in receiving aid for the acceleration of socio-economic development, though these are always not alike to those of donor countries’ motives and objectives. Remarkably, the political dimensions along with associated policy moves thus signify the very nature of the politics of foreign aid. Moreover, the changing nature of geopolitical and strategic dynamics, unleashing both opportunities and challenges, has added new catalysts in shaping and moulding the political dimensions regarding foreign aid. The sectoral preferences, nature and choices of both the donor and recipient countries, whether they are bilateral or multilateral donors, aligning through the types of aid and varieties of conditionalities have particularly made the politics consequential. Furthermore, the growing repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic have added new dimensions to foreign aid politics by changing the perimeter of foreign aid disbursement. Apart from that, the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia has rippling effects on the priority and disbursement of foreign aid. The humanitarian crisis and politic-security dynamics, due to the war, have been draining the volume and nature of foreign aid disbursal from its traditional regions to Ukraine. Against this backdrop, it has been critical to delve into the diplomatic measures those Bangladesh employs on dealing with the very nature of foreign aid politics, largely when there is a significant shift in foreign aid at the dawn of the 21st century. It also is crucial to tracing out the politics of foreign aid from the context of Bangladesh when the country is heading towards a developmental stage through building a self-image in the global arena.
Keywords: Foreign Aid, Diplomacy, Politics, Development, Bangladesh, South-South Cooperation, Economic Growth, Dependency
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