Revisiter l'aide publique au développement

Abstract

After a period of recess during the second part of the 1990s, official development assistance (ODA) has substantially increased over the last few years. However, this complex and multipurpose policy remains ill-understood often associated with waste and corruption. The measure of its effectiveness raises various questions relative to the variety of its mandates and the level of agregation at which results are considered. In 2007, French ODA stands at a cross-road, especially in terms of its resources. This paper argues that ODA should be thought around three complementary components. Beyond and in addition to its original mandate of solidarity through poverty reduction, French ODA can also be used as a vehicle for increasing influence and as an effective instrument to promote global collective action and the provision of global public goods. This is a promising way of revisiting its fundamental political dimension while meeting the expectations of French citizens.