Download Presentation Philipp Krause - Overseas Development Institute

The Ownership Chimera
Philipp Krause, ODI
London, November 13, 2014
“an imaginary monster compounded of incongruous
parts”
“an unrealizable dream”
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
The hubris of “We”
• Normative versus positive
• How do international agreements translate into domestic
government action?
• Did the MGDs work? What lessons are to be drawn for post2015?
• What do different kinds agreements mean for the
sovereignty of governments?
• What does the nature of government action imply for the
realism of the SDG agenda?
Government by majority, not consensus
Voters
winning agenda
Guns
Butter
“Country” policy agendas vary, too
Countries
International agreement
Infrastructure
Welfare
Mechanisms of translation
• Attribution of international agreements: fungibility of
funds? Shifts in policy?
• The record of international development strategies
affecting government spending and policy
implementation is poor (e.g. PRSPs)
• If a finance ministry looks at [international
strategy+targets+money], what does it see?
• International development agenda = domestically,
just another interest group?
The nature of international agreements
Type
Example
Regulatory
•
Domestic interactions and ownership
dynamics
Peace Agreement
Very limited
between two sovereign focus of the agreement is on the international
states/
actions of two or more states.
Montreal Protocol
Limited
(Ozone depletion)
Changes to regulatory framework affect the
distribution of resources, there are often clear
winners and losers to such policy changes. Ergo
there are usually clear opponents who do not
“own” the regulatory changes.
Expenditure
•
MDGS
Substantial
Given distribution of fiscal priorities is a
reflection of political power relations between
groups in society. Actual state spending is
amongst the (if not THE) most tangible and real
expression of political will.
Institutional
•
Holy Alliance (18151825)
Comecon (1949-1991)
“New Deal” for fragile
states
EU
Fundamental
Agreements of this kind are not just asking
states to do certain things, they ask them to
change their nature.
International •
conduct
•
•
•
What is to be done?
1. Scrap the SDG-agenda altogether
2. Establish a world state
3. SDGs as goals, not targets – aid as incentive to buy
into international development agenda, without a
claim on domestic revenues and subject to domestic
priorities
Thanks!
Questions, comments?
Get in touch: [email protected]