Developping assistance

Developing countries play a pivotal role in the management of global problems. The assistance they receive from developed countries is therefore marked by the concerns of these countries to ensure greater global security, ranging from the stability of financial markets to the sustainability of natural resources, from economic development to environmental protection, from the reduction of carbon emissions to biodiversity preservation, and from the fight against infectious disease to the fight against terrorism.

In order to better understand the role played - or that could be played - by official development assistance in the handling of global issues, IDDRI organized a regular seminar in 2004 and 2005, Interdependencies and official development assistance, for the staff of the DGCID. With this department, it has coordinated two high-level European workshops for senior civil servants and researchers, the first on Security and development, the second on Migration and development, the third on Emerging countries.

Furthermore, IDDRI supports the initiative launched in 2005 to promote European research on assistance, in collaboration with ODI, GDI and the European Commission.

The emergence on the diplomatic, economic and trade scene of new actors such as China, India and Brazil is changing the face of industrialized countries' foreign relations, especially in terms of objectives, policies and practices in the field of development assistance. This situation is disrupting relations between political and economic actors and raising a certain number of questions, which remain as yet unanswered because the strategies of emerging countries are so different and so difficult to decipher.

In order to gain a clearer view, IDDRI organizes a regular seminar with the DGCID, Emerging countries and official development assistance, which began in September 2006 and should finish in 2007.

The role of emerging countries

Imbued with the global geostrategic balance of the post-war period, the framework of traditional inter-State global governance has been called into question by the sudden appearance in the international debate of new political and economic operators that do not identify with the North-South debate. With regard to issues such as climate change, development assistance or intellectual property rights, emerging countries are already playing a decisive role in the construction of the new global governance system.

Having sought to reinforce their role in the intergovernmental system by asserting their leadership within the group of developing countries, they have formed more restricted alliances according to the subject. They have also gained a foothold in new international agreements, such as global funds or processes. They have thus established themselves as key actors in the discussion on modes of international governance in the face of a struggling Europe and a United States critical of the multilateral regulation of global issues.

IDDRI provides elements of understanding in its fields of competence (natural resources, climate and energy, trade, development assistance, etc.). After taking stock of knowledge and research underway, it will organize a first international meeting in July 2007 in Paris to compare points of view.