List of figuresList of tablesList of boxesAbbreviationsPrefaceIntroductionDevelopment cooperation in an era of globalisationMore and more new actors on the scene: is the sector still a community?Big donors, generous donorsMore conflicting views and approaches: the arena is getting toughMore transactional interests: market appealDo new donors have other interests?Everybody from payers to players: the emergence of a new paradigmFrom colonialism to the Sustainable Development GoalsColonial warm-up exercisesTechnical cooperation and knowledge transferFaith in development aidDevelopment cooperation: aid in a global settingThe Washington Consensus and structural adjustmentsInternational cooperation, the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development GoalsAddressing poverty in exchange for debt reliefInternational development cooperation and Paris: introducing order to the community and the marketThe SDGs and the need for a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach It takes two to tangoInternationally: among specialistsRecipient countries: donor darlings and donor orphansThe first pillar: official bilateral cooperationMany small players and institutional pluralismIn search of an institutional foundation for development cooperationDecentralisation: to reach the SDGs or also for other reasons?The second pillar: multilateral cooperationEurope’s development cooperation patchworkMultilateral cooperation: the UN galaxy fans out furtherThe third pillar: non-governmental development organisationsA movement with many faces, roles, visions and strategiesSeveral generations of NGDOsA sector with many different visions and strategiesA movement with a plural support baseThe sector breaks free from the NGDOsIs the new social movement becoming an established network movement?The fourth pillar: towards a whole-of-society approachThe key players of the fourth pillarThe fourth pillar: the children of globalisation challenge the children of the North-SouthStarting from a different fieldFrom a level ‘telling’ field to joint actionThe near and distant future of a whole-of-society approachHumanitarian aid: more dispersed or more networked?What place for emergency aid?Overcoming the humanitarian nemesisCash-and-carry on the marketThe unbearable lightness of the support for development cooperationThe uneasy relationship with the support baseNo (more) aid fatigue?Popular, yet little understoodSomething needs to be done: but by whom?Time for a new narrative: from development education towards education for global citizenshipSixty years of international development cooperation: where has the bumpy road led us? 261Progress, but not for everyoneIs aid future-proof?Are we really that generous?Who is receiving aid?The effectiveness and impact of development cooperationDevelopment cooperation: a stumbling-block?Conclusion: the past will not come back but is still thereNotesBibliographyBeyond the traditional North-South perspectiveOver the past 60 years high-income countries have invested over 4000 billion euros in development aid. With varying degrees of success, these investments in low-income countries contributed to tackling structural problems such as access to water, health care, and education. Today, however, international development cooperation is no longer restricted to helping by giving. Instead, it is rather about opportunities, mutual interests, risk taking, and an inclusive societal approach. With the arrival of major new actors such as China, India, and Brazil, and the manifestation of private companies and foundations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, development aid is being eclipsed by new forms of international cooperation, increasingly accompanied by investments, trade, and give-and-take exchanges.The agenda for sustainable development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 and to be realised by 2030, is a case in point of new influential frameworks that usher in a global rather than a traditional North-South perspective.This book reviews 60 years of international development aid and its relevant actors, outlining today’s challenges and opportunities. Richly illustrated with case studies and examples, International Development Cooperation Today maps successes and failures and synthesizes visions and discussions from all over the world. By pointing out the radical shift from the traditional North-South perspective to a global paradigm, this book is essential reading for all practitioners, academics, and donors involved in development aid.Over the past 60 years high-income countries have invested over 4000 billion euros in development aid. With varying degrees of success, these investments in low-income countries contributed to tackling structural problems such as access to water, health care, and education. Today, however, international development cooperation is no longer restricted to helping by giving. Instead, it is rather about opportunities, mutual interests, risk taking, and an inclusive societal approach. With the arrival of major new actors such as China, India, and Brazil, and the manifestation of private companies and foundations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, development aid is being eclipsed by new forms of international cooperation, increasingly accompanied by investments, trade, and give-and-take exchanges.The agenda for sustainable development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 and to be realised by 2030, is a case in point of new influential frameworks that usher in a global rather than a traditional North-South perspective.This book reviews 60 years of international development aid and its relevant actors, outlining today’s challenges and opportunities. Richly illustrated with case studies and examples, International Development Cooperation Today maps successes and failures and synthesizes visions and discussions from all over the world. By pointing out the radical shift from the traditional North-South perspective to a global paradigm, this book is essential reading for all practitioners, academics, and donors involved in development aid.