Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 1992. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

The Canadian foreign aid program increasingly has been linked to trade and other commercial objectives- How and why has this happened? Has this been a successful linkage? What are the implications for Canada and its foreign aid program of this pursuit of the aid-trade linkage? This thesis attempts to answer these questions by exploring the origins and evolution of Canada's aid program, the political and bureaucratic status of Canada's aid agency, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the various policies and policy instruments employed in this recent orientation of aid. It is here argued that in the pragmatic origins of Canada's aid efforts, beginning with the Colombo Plan of the 1950s, lay the seeds for today's aid-trade policy linkage. These origins enabled the interests and objectives of other federal government departments to intrude on and often supersede developmental considerations in Canadian development assistance. As a result, the creation of a strong central aid agency has consistently been impeded, and the needs of Third World nations consistently overshadowed by domestic concerns. Exacerbating this situation was the fiscal restraint and domestic recession of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The pressures stemming from these twin problems gave the final impetus for the increasing integration of aid and commerce. While it is questionable whether linking aid with commerce serves Canada's political and economic interests, in either the short term or the long term, the federal government seems intent on continuing this policy trend. Indeed, the aid-trade linkage superficially resolves a number of administrative problems for CIDA, and enthusiastically is promoted as a bright new opportunity for Canada and its development partners. Conversely, efforts to reverse this policy trend face many obstacles in the Canadian polity and society. In the absence of decisive political leadership on this issue, then, aid-trade linkage is likely to continue. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

This study explores the notion of partnership as an approach to long-term sustainable development in Africa, by examining relationships Canadian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) forge with their donors and with counterpart NGOs in developing countries. A case study methodology was used to examine how Canadian NGOs in general, and CARE Canada in particular, work in partnership with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and Kenyan local NGOs. The findings indicate that the development themes and agendas of the past three development decades are reflected in the activities and programs of Canadian NGOs. However, very little was learned about the contribution of partnership to African development. CARE Canada's partnership relations seem to be guided by the development priorities of funding agencies such as CIDA, which dictate how CARE relates to its Kenyan partners. Partnership seems only to facilitate an environment for dialogue between organizations, concerning needs, constraints and fiscal accountability. The study proposes that further research on the concept of development partnerships needs to be carried out in-depth to determine how this model can be used in building capacities of African organizations.

The role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has sparked increased interest in recent years as they have grown in prominence and international activity. The thesis looks at British and Canadian NGOs concerned with overseas development assistance, and asks what influence they have wielded in the formulation of their own governments' development policies. Based on recent policy community writing, a "conceptual map" is devised which suggests that six elements are important for any analysis of influence: context, content, motivations, resources, tactics, and channels. Chapters two to five use these elements to look at the broad "policy communities" in which official development policy is formulated, and to examine the increasing roles and activities of NGOs as lobbyists. Chapters six and seven take a closer look at two specific "policy networks" within those communities: the relationships created around the World Food Conference in 1974 are compared with those existing at the time of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit). The thesis concludes that NGOs have had an increasing but limited influence on government policy, given (1) an increase in the activity and influence of NGOs, (2) the greater relevance of certain "elements of influence" over others, and (3) the comparatively stronger influence of Canadian NGOs in relation to their British counterparts. The thesis' contribution to knowledge is based on its use of extensive and original primary sources and interviews in both countries, its application of a policy community approach to a new field in international relations, and its systematic attempt to answer evolving questions about this growing, international, and non-governmental force.

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 149-158). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 1983. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of British Columbia, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-170). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of British Columbia, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-170).

No description available.

Successive Canadian federal governments have officially indicated their support of human rights in foreign policy, including as they relate to aid-giving. This thesis quantitatively tests this rhetoric with the actual practice of bilateral aid-giving in two time periods – 1998-2000 and 2007-2009. This, however, revealed that Canada has actually tended to give more bilateral aid to countries with poorer human rights records. A deeper quantitative analysis identifies certain multilateral memberships – notably with the Commonwealth, NATO, and OECD – and the geo-political and domestic considerations of Haiti as significant and confirms a recipient state’s human rights performance is not a consideration. These multilateral relationships reflect state self-interests, historical connections, security, and a normative commitment to poverty reduction. It is these factors that those promoting a human rights agenda need to contemplate if recipient state performance is to become relevant in bilateral aid decisions. Thus, it is necessary to turn to international relations theory, in particular liberal institutionalism, to explain Canada’s bilateral aid-giving in these periods. / vi, 141 leaves ; 29 cm