Conceptualising ideational convergence of China and OECD donors: coalition magnets in development cooperation

Janus, Heiner / Tang Lixia
External Publications (2020)

in: Sachin Chaturvedi / Heiner Janus / Stephan Klingebiel / Xiaoyun Li / André de Mello e Souza / Elizabeth Sidiropoulos / Dorothea Wehrmann (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of development cooperation for achieving the 2030 Agenda, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 217-243, online

ISBN: 978-3-030-57938-8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57938-8_10
Volltext/Document

This chapter analyses the development discourse on foreign aid to explore areas of convergence between the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors and Chinese development cooperation. We apply the concept of “coalition magnets”—the capacity of an idea to appeal to a diverse set of individuals and groups, and to be used strategically by policy entrepreneurs to frame interests, mobilise support, and build coalitions. Three coalition magnets are identified: mutual benefit, development results, and the 2030 Agenda. The chapter finds that coalition magnets can be used to influence political change and concludes that applying a discursive approach provides a new conceptual opportunity for fostering closer engagement between OECD-DAC and Chinese development cooperation actors.

About the author

Janus, Heiner

Political Science