In the early 2000s when several Central and East European countries (CEECs) negotiated their accession to the European Union (EU), they introduced foreign aid policy despite most of them being aid recipient countries at the time. This thesis seeks to explain the evolution of foreign aid policy in two Central and Eastern European countries that took divergent paths in adopting the policy, Slovenia and Latvia. While Slovenia evolved into a relatively active donor country among the CEECs, Latvia’s aid policy developed relatively slowly and aid allocations were smaller. The thesis approaches this subject from the perspective of the ‘Europeanisation East’ literature that seeks to explain policy adoption in the CEECs in terms of EU influence. The literature is divided on how to explain the policy adoption processes in the CEECs. Rationalists, on the one hand, stress the role played by external incentives, in particular the conditions the EU imposed on the CEECs for them to be admitted to the EU, known as EU conditionality. Rationalists also note the role of domestic veto players who can delay or even stop adoption of the policy if it incurs high adoption costs upon them. Constructivists, on the other hand, explain policy adoption in terms of identification and social influence, policy resonance, or the presence of influential norm entrepreneurs. In an important study, Schimmelfennig and Sedelmeier (2005) concluded that most of the policy adoption processes can be explained by the overwhelming influence of EU conditionality, thus downplaying constructivist explanations. This thesis examines whether their finding can be applied to the adoption of foreign aid policy in the preaccession period (1998-2004). It focuses on the role of EU as well as domestic factors in the policy adoption processes. It then explores what factors account for further developments in the policy adoption processes in the period after the CEECs acceded to the EU (2004-2010). The empirical basis of this study consists of a series of interviews with policy makers and civil society representatives in the two countries. The findings in these interviews have been checked against and triangulated with an encompassing examination of policy documents and archival material. The main findings about the pre-accession period indicate that EU conditionality indeed played an important role in foreign aid policy adoption, but so did identification and social influence. Hence policy adoption costs and the efforts of veto players could not delay policy adoption. In the post-accession period, it is argued here, the further policy adoption processes can largely be explained by identification and social influence. Nevertheless, veto players and adoption costs, as well as policy resonance, did emerge as constraining factors in the policy processes. All in all, the thesis argues that the policy adoption processes can be explained best by a combination of both Constructivist and Rationalist theories and that role of domestic factors should not be neglected in research into EU influence on the new member states.

Harvard University professor Joseph Nye divided a country¡¦s comprehensive national power into hard power and soft power. A country¡¦s national interest ovelap each country and the interaction with countries become more frequent and close under the globalization. A country not only pursueds its own hard power, but develops its soft power. With soft power has become the core value in the international society, the effect of soft power has become the key stratergy to a country¡¦s foreign relations. Moreover, soft power has been China¡¦s foreign relations strategy. This paper analyzes how China uses foreign aid policy and Confucius Institute to achieve the efficacy of soft power. To analyze China¡¦s foreign aid policy and Confucius Institute¡¦s overall arrangement stratergy, and compare the different efficacy of soft power of the role of foreign aid policy and Confucius Institute. China¡¦s economic grows fast since 1978, but how to avoid the other countries fear and misgiving is a big challeange for Chinese government. Chinese government emphasizes peaceful development and develops a country¡¦s soft power to build more advantageous international environment.

國際間的互動頻繁，使得國家間的交往成為國家政策目標之一。因此 身為國際社會成員的我國，自不能孤立於國際社會而存在。我國由於國情 特殊，尤其是面對中共的刻意打壓與封鎖，因此對於參與國際社會，宣示 自己為國際社會的成員，一向是我國外交政策的重點所在。為突破外交孤 立的困境，「務實外交」政策便因應而生了！但是中共不願意我國在外交 與國際交往上有所突破，因此對我國之抨擊、打壓與封殺實乃愈加強烈。 在國際交往工具的選擇上，我國由於此種國際環境使然，因此很難運用一 般在正常情形下所使用的外交政策工具。因此「對外援助」政策便成為我 國拓展對外關係的主要政策工具之一。因為不僅可以運用發展與人道等特 質以避開敏感的政治限制，以達到國際交往的實質目的；再者，由於我國 經濟等方面之發展經驗實為其他開發中國家發展之楷模；亦符合「己立立 人，己達達人」之固有明訓。故正當我國擁有適當的經濟力量以作為推行 對外援助的籌 碼，而國際社會又正逢需求之際，因此便可以以此種較為 積極並較具影響力的方式進行國際交往。再者，它亦是我國參與國際事務 、善盡國際責任、提升國際形象與增加國際影響力的 表現。 我國 的對外援助政策始於民國四十七年七月，應越南政府之邀，組派經濟考察 團至越南考察。隔年，我國駐越技術團成立，為我國農技援外之始。民國 七十七年十月成立的「海外經濟合作發展基金」（ International Economic Cooperation Development Fund,IECDF）並在經濟部下設立基 金管理委員會開展基金業務，展開對外援助事宜。民國八十五年七月一日 ，財團法人「國際合作發展基金會」成立，整合及統籌我國對外援助事宜 。以使我國的對外援助工作能達到透明化、專業化與效率化。並量力而行 ，認清自己的力量。未來的工作方 向則包括雙邊或多邊技術合作、直 接或間接貸款、直接或間接參與投資、投資或貸款之保證與捐款或實物贈 與、以及其它可行方式。而合作對象則是外國政府、國際組織或國際機構 或其指定的機關或團體。以達我國回饋國際社會、善盡國際責任、重返國 際社會等目的。

This thesis investigates the ways in which the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden could influence the Swedish Foreign Aid Policy for NGOs, with particular focus on financial support for their missionary activities. Furthermore, it investigates how the church’s involvement in the emerging Foreign Aid Policy work, and its relationship with the government agency NIB/SIDA during the years 1964-1980, influenced the church’s own policy-making. Using Mahoney, Streeck and Thelen’s concept of gradual change and Bourdieu’s theory of habitus this thesis investigates the influence the relationship had on 1) the Aid policy 2) MCCS: s evangelical mission. The results of this thesis indicate that the government agency’s original demand for a Foreign Aid work neutral from religious or political influence changed into a policy embracing missionary organisations. The results also indicate a change in the priority of the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden’s mission methods with the church prioritising social work over evangelisation. This study aims in general to deepen the knowledge of the NGOs involved in the Swedish Foreign Aid in order to further the understanding of their influence on the Foreign Aid Policy as well as their methods to remain uninfluenced in return.