Development aid and end in itself?

24 April 2012. In the last few years, development aid has increasingly come in for criticism. The allegations are grave: it is said that development aid has atrophied into an end in itself which keeps the entire “development industry” alive but does nothing to diminish poverty. Often monies are channelled into the pockets of corrupt elites, and cooperation with many regimes must be regarded as downright “lethal support”.

The history of development cooperation
Prof. Dr. Corinne A. Pernet, SNF Professor of Latin American and International History, will demonstrate in the public lecture series how development cooperation became an important field of activity in the Cold War. In addition, she will look into the UN’s Millennium Development Goals and into more recent approaches in development cooperation , including Switzerland’s. This will be about a more profound understanding of the complex debates rather than any conclusive assessment.

Reference works
For the lecture series, Pernet will use the books Im Dienst der Menschheit: Meilensteine der Schweizer Entwicklungszusammenarbeit seit 1945 by Daniele Waldburger/Lukas Zürcher/Urs Scheidegger, Wer langsam geht, kommt weit: Ein halbes Jahrhundert Schweizer Entwicklungshilfe by René Holenstein and Entwicklungswelten: Globalgeschichte der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit by Daniel Speich.

The lectures will start on Wednesdays at 6.15 p.m.

Photo: Fotalia / Andreas Wolf