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Edited volumes by Stephen Brown

Эмхэтгэсэн Кристиан Сүтэр, Стевен Броун, Алдарын Долгион, Чүлтэмсүрэнгийн Тамир, 2022

Дэлхийн нийгмийн сангийн тухай v Өмнөх үг ба талархал vii Оршил: Ээдрээтэй он жилүүдэд ардчиллыг ... more Дэлхийн нийгмийн сангийн тухай v Өмнөх үг ба талархал vii Оршил: Ээдрээтэй он жилүүдэд ардчиллыг судлах нь 1 Стевен Броун Хэсэг I Монгол Улс дахь ардчилал 9 1 Монголын ардчиллыг тэтгэгч далд хүчин зүйлс Стевен Фиш, Майкл Сийберг 2 Социализмын дараах үеийн Монголын иргэний Далайбуяны Бямбажав 3 Монголын ардчилал: Үндсэн сорилт ба хэтийн боломж Ойдовын Хатанболд 4 Монголын ардчиллын өдөр тутмын дүр зураг: Улаанбаатар хотын гэр хороололд амьдрах хугацаандаа ардчиллын үйл явцыг антропологийн үүднээс судалсан нь Элизабет Фокс Хэсэг II Ардчиллын тэмцлийн талаар харьцуулсан судалгаа ба байгалийн нөөцийн үүрэг 5 Зүүн өмнөд Азийн байгалийн нөөцийн менежмент: Авлигатай тэмцэх, хууль сахиулах болон үр ашигт тулгарч буй сорилтууд Андреа Хэфнер iv Гарчиг 6 Өөрчлөлтийн мөч үү? Орлогын сөрөг цочрол ба дэлхийн улс орнуудын улс төрийн дэглэмийн өөрчлөлт Увшийн Дэлгэржаргал 7 Байгалийн баялгийн ашгаараа сонгуулийн санал худалдан авах нь: Эдийн засгийн популизм ба байгалийн баялгаас хамааралтай ардчилсан орнууд дахь клиентелизм Самбуугийн Болдсайхан 8 Ардчилах үйл явцад олон улсын харилцааны, үзүүлсэн нөлөөлөл, 1972 2005 Матиас Де Роек, Ронан Ван Россем 9 Каталоны 10 сарын 1-ний ардчиллын төлөөх тэмцэл Нурия Суэро Комеллас Ном бүтээхэд хувь нэмрээ оруулагчид viii Өмнөх үг ба талархал ix Өмнөх үг ба талархал

Edited by Christian Suter, Stephen Brown, Dolgion Aldar and Tamir Chultemsuren, 2021

The World Society Foundation (WSF) was established in 1982 by Peter Heintz with the aim of encour... more The World Society Foundation (WSF) was established in 1982 by Peter Heintz with the aim of encouraging and supporting research on world society, that is, its emergence and historical evolution, its structure, its dynamics, and current transformation. Until 2003, the main purpose of the Foundation's sponsoring activities was to finance entire research projects focusing on the various processes of social integration and disintegration within worldwide systems-world culture, world economy, world politics, and intergovernmental systems-and on how global processes affect the perceptions and actions of individual and collective actors worldwide. Its current sponsoring policy is to provide award programs for research papers and to support international conferences on world society topics. In accordance with this new policy, the Foundation has introduced its WSF Award Program for Research Papers on World Society and held a series of international conferences in order to maintain a network of excellent scholars interested in transnational and global research topics. The World Society Foundation Award honors outstanding research papers on world society that address a specific topic announced by the Foundation in its Award Program. The World Society Foundation also publishes the book series "World Society Studies.

This revised edition not only analyzes Canada’s past development assistance, it also highlights i... more This revised edition not only analyzes Canada’s past development assistance, it also highlights important new opportunities in the context of the recent change in government. Designed to reach a variety of audiences, contributions by twenty scholars and experts in the field offer an incisive examination of Canada’s record and initiatives in Canadian foreign aid, including its relatively recent emphasis on maternal and child health and on the extractive sector, as well as the longer-term engagement with state fragility.

Journal articles by Stephen Brown

Journal of International Development (advance access), 2024

In 2018, a Tanzanian government official announced a crackdown on homosexuality. International ac... more In 2018, a Tanzanian government official announced a crackdown on homosexuality. International actors rapidly expressed their disapproval and temporarily suspended some foreign aid, which elicited a negative response from the Tanzanian government and soured donor-recipient relations. The incident was short-lived, however, and expressed mainly at the symbolic level and does not appear to have achieved any change in policies or practices either among the donors or in Tanzania. How should one interpret this sudden eruption of frictions and its lack of impact and what are its implications? I argue that international actors felt pressure to take quick, visible action, regardless of how ineffective those steps could be expected to be. Politicians from Tanzania's ruling party seized this occasion to ramp up anti-LGBT+ and anti-donor rhetoric, attempting to strengthen their standing domestically. Both sides used the opportunity to express their identity as either defenders or opponents of LGBT+ rights. This case shows how donor-recipient frictions can be primarily performative and reflect both sides' desire to please their own constituencies without implementing any lasting changes to aid flows or domestic policy in the recipient country.

Journal of International Development, vol. 36, no. 7, pp. 2790-2804, 2024

In some instances, two basic development cooperation principles appear to be in direct contradict... more In some instances, two basic development cooperation principles appear to be in direct contradiction: on the one hand, the Sustainable Development Goals prescribe universal social inclusion under the leitmotif of "leave no one behind", mandating an emphasis on the most marginalized. On the other hand, the cornerstone of development cooperation is “ownership”, which recognizes that countries must be free to choose their own priorities and strategies. To what extent can these two principles be reconciled in “hostile environments”, places where certain groups, such as LGBTQI+ people, are marginalized and even persecuted and criminalized? I argue that, while the SDGs are clear about the need for radical inclusion, the ownership principle lacks precision about who “owns” the concept. Adopting an emancipatory conceptualization of ownership, under which the ultimate beneficiaries should be the ones to determine priorities and strategies, eliminates the apparent contradiction and legitimizes support to marginalized groups even if their own governments disagree.

British Journal of Politics and International Relations, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 535-554, 2023

The equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines is one of the most important tests of global coop... more The equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines is one of the most important tests of global cooperation that the world has faced in recent decades. Collectively, global leaders failed that crucible abysmally, creating a 'vaccine apartheid' that divided the world according to income into countries with widespread access and those without. Why, given that leaders were fully aware of the risks and injustice of vaccine inequity, did governments of wealthy countries hoard doses, impede the expansion of vaccine manufacturing and otherwise prevent equitable access to vaccines? We argue that their decisions to act selfishly are best explained by governments' accountability to domestic constituencies, their lack of leadership and commitment to multilateralism and their adoption of short-term perspectives, as well as their unwillingness to curb the influence of profitoriented global pharmaceutical companies and, to a certain extent, of an additional private actor, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Journal of Human Rights Practice, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 506-522, 2023

Most struggles for LGBTQI+ rights play out at the national level. However, the question of sexual... more Most struggles for LGBTQI+ rights play out at the national level. However, the question of sexual and gender minorities' rights periodically appears as a point of friction in international relations as well. This article analyses the question of international efforts to defend LGBTQI+ rights in countries of the Global South, with a particular focus on Western countries' endeavours in Africa. Combining policy analysis, critique and recommendations, it asks how and when international actors should and should not intervene. It recognizes that motives for intervening can be problematic and the means often counterproductive, especially when exhibiting neo-imperialist tendencies and constituting ad hoc reactions to events in the media. Countering essentialist arguments about 'authentic' African culture and values, influenced by religious beliefs, is also a significant challenge. I argue that more fruitful efforts should instead be centred on local rights defenders' perspectives and supporting their priorities and initiatives, based on concerted, long-term, principled strategies. International actors, however, are reluctant to adopt such approaches because of a desire for short-term visible action, even if less effective or not effective at all. This conundrum is a fundamental problem in the area of foreign aid writ large, as greater impact often requires less visibility on the part of international actors, but donor countries want domestic and international recognition of their efforts. The article distils key lessons learnt and principles for action that have emerged over the past 15 to 20 years, brought together in one place for the first time. It aims to stimulate discussions among practitioners and academics. It should be of particular interest to human rights practitioners, especially those who are involved or contemplating getting involved in defending the rights of sexual and gender minorities internationally.

Canadian Journal of Development Studies, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 645-664, 2023

In the early 2010s, the Canadian government increasingly integrated commercial self-interest into... more In the early 2010s, the Canadian government increasingly integrated commercial self-interest into its foreign aid program. This article analyzes the ostensible motives and impact of the rapid intensification of Canada’s support to the extractive sector in Mongolia. It argues that, rather than a reflection of Mongolia’s needs, the decision was donor-driven and resulted in apparently poorly designed projects with limited potential to advance Canadian aid’s objective of reducing poverty, or even to meet the unofficial goal of benefitting Canadian mining companies. A potentially more productive approach would have been to help reduce, not reinforce, Mongolia’s extreme dependence on mining.

Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 98-106, 2022

As a result of the unexpectedly quick development of vaccines to prevent COVID-19, the Canadian g... more As a result of the unexpectedly quick development of vaccines to prevent COVID-19, the Canadian government was pulled in two opposite directions. On the one hand, Canadians exerted extreme pressure on the government to purchase and roll out vaccines as fast as possible for domestic immunization. On the other hand, it sought to promote global access to the vaccine, which would save more lives. This article examines how the Canadian government responded to this quandary, why it made those choices, to what effect and what a better approach would have been. I argue that, by adopting a resolute “Canada First” approach for electoral reasons, while also rhetorically espousing equitable global access, the government tried to satisfy both sides. However, by focusing overwhelmingly “doing good” for Canadians, the government is also indirectly “doing harm” to vulnerable people abroad and prolonging the pandemic globally and for Canadians too. Canadian “vaccine nationalism” is also harmful to Canadian economic interests and claims of global leadership, and will reduce Canada’s “soft power”. The solution, from both an ethical and a pragmatic standpoint, would be to share vaccines more equitably and support intellectual property waivers and other measures to accelerate global vaccine production and immunization.

International Journal, vol. 76, no. 1, pp. 42-54, 2021

This article analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on foreign aid. Using examples from Can... more This article analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on foreign aid. Using examples from Canadian foreign aid, it argues that, despite the terrible toll it is exacting, the crisis has accelerated some significant positive pre-existing trends, both by destabilizing the perception of aid as flowing essentially from the Global North to Global South and by reinforcing awareness of the importance of joint efforts for global public goods and humanitarian assistance, as well as debt relief. However, it has also reinforced potentially harmful self-interested justifications for aid, which could align assistance more with donors' priorities than the needs of the poor. An important trend reversal is the renewed emphasis on well-being. Two other crucial trends remain unclear-the COVID-19 pan-demic's impact on multilateral approaches and on aid flows. How donors respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath over the next few years will depend on their political will, and will profoundly shape the future of development cooperation .

International Journal, vol. 75, no. 3, pp. 313-328, 2020

Canada's Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), launched in June 2017, marks the first ... more Canada's Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), launched in June 2017, marks the first time that sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) have been mentioned in an overarching Canadian aid policy. The inclusion of SOGI in the policy document sent an important signal to domestic and international development partners on the need to consider these sources of discrimination and marginalization. This article asks two basic research questions. First, what is the place of SOGI in Canada's "feminist" international assistance? Second, what additional steps does Canada's development program need to take to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people in the Global South? Based on an analysis of official documents and secondary sources, we argue that FIAP itself sends only a weak signal about the importance of SOGI-related concerns, but Canadian foreign aid has expanded its understanding of LGBTI issues and has begun to commit dedicated resources to addressing them. Nonetheless, the initial programming (2017-2019) was channelled in an ad hoc manner and through one, major stand-alone commitment, rather than through a broader framework that would guide SOGI's integration into Canadian programs over the long term. If serious about addressing LGBTI rights more systematically, the Canadian government needs to expand its definition of what SOGI entails and move beyond niche programming to recognize the cross-cutting dimension of LGBTI rights in foreign aid, especially in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights.

European Journal of Development Research, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 1230-1248, 2020

This article analyzes the rise and fall of the aid effectiveness norm, using the lens of Finnemor... more This article analyzes the rise and fall of the aid effectiveness norm, using the lens of Finnemore and Sikkink's norm 'life cycle'. I argue that, although donors and recipients endorsed the founding principles, the norm was only feebly internalized: they were unwilling to overcome their reluctance-and important disincentives-to substantially change their practices on the ground. After the norm cascaded, the donor-led process sought to gain legitimacy and diffuse the norm more broadly by trying to bring in a wider range of actors through norm substitution. These changes failed to convince emerging donors to engage and caused the norm to decay to the point where it ceased to constitute a norm. This case highlights the importance of refining the life cycle model to take into account weak internalization and the potential existence of a second phase in which norms decline and potentially die.

Democratization, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 185-203, 2020

The “developmental state” has become a prominent alternative development model defended by contem... more The “developmental state” has become a prominent alternative development model defended by contemporary Western aid donors, particularly in Africa. Purported “developmental states,” such as Ethiopia and Rwanda, are argued to possess strong-willed, visionary leaderships whose commitment to delivering on ambitious development plans renders them attractive donor partners. These leaderships are also, however, often authoritarian and unapologetic when criticized for democratic backsliding or human rights abuses. For many Western donors this represents a tolerable trade-off. The purpose of this article is to interrogate, critique and explain the assumptions and ideas underlying this trade-off. Using the case study of Ethiopia, we argue that donor officials’ understandings of “developmental state” are varied, vague and superficial, the main commonality being a “strong” regime with “political will” and a non-negotiable approach to domestic governance. We suggest that donors have too readily and uncritically accepted, internalized and deployed these notions, using the “developmental state” concept to justify their withdrawal from serious engagement on democratic reform. This derives from a systemic donor preference for depoliticized development models, as well as from Ethiopian officials’ own savvy political manoeuvrings. It has also, however, weakened donors’ position of influence at a time when the Ethiopian regime is debating major political reform.

Development Policy Review, vol. 38, no. S1, pp. 13-31, 2020

Background As foreign aid donors are increasingly open about seeking to obtain benefits from thei... more Background
As foreign aid donors are increasingly open about seeking to obtain benefits from their development assistance, new forms of donor‐driven private‐sector partnerships have proliferated. This new trend is especially controversial in the mining sector, to which Canada has become the largest aid donor among OECD/DAC countries.

Purpose
In order to better understand this phenomenon and its implications, this paper asks, first, how has aid to the mining sector evolved and what do the changes suggest about its underlying motives? Second, what are the implications regarding the ‘democratic ownership’ of the recipients’ development agenda?.

Approach and methods
The study analyses Canadian aid to the mining sector in Peru, its largest recipient of such aid, concentrating on the period since 2011, when Canadian aid took an ‘extractive turn’. It draws on 20 semi‐structured interviews with key players and observers in Lima and Cusco in Peru, as well as an in‐depth review of mainly secondary sources and some statistical data. Its analytical framework is based on the motives that must underpin aid, as stipulated by Canadian legislation, and the concept of ‘ownership’, the cornerstone of the international Aid Effectiveness Agenda.

Findings
The extractive turn in Canadian aid reflects an increase in commercial self‐interest, at the expense of altruistic poverty reduction and contradicting core elements of the legislated mandate of Canadian aid. Extractive‐related aid to Peru now almost exclusively supports: (a) strengthening the central government's role in promoting mining; (b) encouraging municipalities to negotiate mutually beneficial relations with Canadian mining companies; and (c) subsidizing Canadian companies’ efforts to obtain a ‘social licence to operate’ from local communities. Canada's assistance to the mining sector can be justified by a narrow interpretation of the concept of country ‘ownership’. However, its justification rests on a limited vision of ownership, based on what governments, who claim to speak on behalf of citizens, prioritize, rather than a more democratic conception that takes into account what poor people want, which may include or preclude mining activities.

Policy implications
Aid donors should focus on locally owned strategies that reflect poor people's priorities, independently of whether they include or exclude allowing mining companies to operate on their territories. Aid may thus contribute to a donor's commercial interests, but the latter should not be the underlying motive.

Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 145-164, Apr 2018

How do left- and right-leaning governments differ in their provision of foreign aid? As the case ... more How do left- and right-leaning governments differ in their provision of foreign aid? As the case of Canada confirms, it is not clear that either type gives more aid or that they spend it significantly differently. This article examines the claim that Stephen Harper’s government played to its Conservative base and compares its record to that of Liberal governments. It finds that all governments over the past few decades have tried to brand their aid initiatives in ways that will appeal to their respective bases. These changes are based on domestic electoral considerations, rather than the needs and priorities of aid recipients, and are a distraction from and impediment to aid effectiveness considerations. In spite of their rhetorical differences, successive governments actually exhibit great continuity in their aid programs, regardless of which party is in power.

Forum for Development Studies, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 335-356, 2017

This article examines the principle of ownership, the keystone of the 2005 Paris Declaration on A... more This article examines the principle of ownership, the keystone of the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, and its application to the cases of Mali and Ghana. It argues that both countries are characterized by a high level of ownership in its formal sense, that is to say, both have developed their own development plans, rather than having them imposed from outside. However, substantively, ownership is severely hampered by the existence of multiple plans, with no clear hierarchy among them, and a similar lack of prioritization within plans, as well as serious deficiencies in translating those plans into action. These limitations to the concept of ownership are best understood, not due to a lack of capacity or a simple lack of will per se, but as a result of interests and incentives, notably to maximize donor funding. As a result, the impact of the Aid Effectiveness Agenda on ownership practices in Mali and Ghana has been far more in form than in substance.

Studies in Political Economy, vol. 97, no. 1, pp. 18-36, Apr 2016

This article examines the main trends in Canadian aid policies from the 2006 election of the Cons... more This article examines the main trends in Canadian aid policies from the 2006 election of the Conservatives under Stephen Harper to their defeat in 2015. It finds that the Harper government increasingly instrumentalized Canadian foreign aid, reorienting it to benefit Canadian interests, to the detriment of poverty reduction abroad. This was part of a broader foreign policy that sabotaged Canada’s ability to use its soft power to influence the global order.

Third World Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 240-256, Feb 2015

The term ‘aid orphan’ refers to a developing country forgotten or abandoned by the development co... more The term ‘aid orphan’ refers to a developing country forgotten or abandoned by the development community. This metaphor has featured prominently in the development assistance policy and research literature over the past decade. Development practitioners, policy makers and researchers have defined aid orphans in manifold ways and often expressed concern over the potential fate or impact of such countries. In this paper we first examine the many definitions of aid orphans and then review the main concerns raised about them. Next we empirically examine more than 40 years of bilateral aid data to identify aid orphan countries and their common characteristics. Our findings suggest that very few countries meet the definition of aid orphan and fewer still raise the concerns collectively expressed about the orphan phenomenon. We conclude by suggesting researchers and practitioners abandon the orphan metaphor and instead focus on issues of equitable aid allocation.

Эмхэтгэсэн Кристиан Сүтэр, Стевен Броун, Алдарын Долгион, Чүлтэмсүрэнгийн Тамир, 2022

Edited by Christian Suter, Stephen Brown, Dolgion Aldar and Tamir Chultemsuren, 2021

Journal of International Development (advance access), 2024

Journal of International Development, vol. 36, no. 7, pp. 2790-2804, 2024

British Journal of Politics and International Relations, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 535-554, 2023

Journal of Human Rights Practice, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 506-522, 2023

Canadian Journal of Development Studies, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 645-664, 2023

Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 98-106, 2022

International Journal, vol. 76, no. 1, pp. 42-54, 2021

International Journal, vol. 75, no. 3, pp. 313-328, 2020

European Journal of Development Research, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 1230-1248, 2020

Democratization, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 185-203, 2020

Development Policy Review, vol. 38, no. S1, pp. 13-31, 2020

Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 145-164, Apr 2018

Forum for Development Studies, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 335-356, 2017

Studies in Political Economy, vol. 97, no. 1, pp. 18-36, Apr 2016

Third World Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 240-256, Feb 2015

Journal of Eastern African Studies, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 43-62, Feb 2014

This paper examines Western countries' pressure – or lack thereof – for peace, justice and democr... more This paper examines Western countries' pressure – or lack thereof – for peace, justice and democracy in Kenya. It analyzes the period since the 2008 National Accord, which defused the 2007–08 post-election crisis, focusing on the lead-up to and immediate aftermath of the 2013 elections. The paper draws extensively on interviews conducted in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013 with Western officials based in Nairobi, as well as informed Kenyans. It argues, first, that recent Western pressure is the latest iteration of a consistent pattern of donors not enforcing stated conditions for future support, causing diminishing returns. Second, donors not only have been reluctant to use potential leverage over the Kenyan government, but also have consistently underestimated it and erred by publicly threatening to use it only at the least strategic moment and not when it could have been most effective. Third, Western officials have continued to make short-term decisions favoring stability or peace that actually undermine basic principles of democracy and justice.

Development Policy Review, vol. 31, no. 6, pp. 737-55, Nov 2013

Since the late 1990s, a new norm has emerged among Western aid donors: recipient country concentr... more Since the late 1990s, a new norm has emerged among Western aid donors: recipient country concentration. The fragmentation of a donor’s foreign aid across too many recipient countries is widely believed to be detrimental to aid effectiveness. This article explores the origins of the norm and assesses the extent to which country concentration can be expected to improve aid effectiveness. It also examines 23 donors’ actual record of country concentration, which does not reflect their rhetoric. Though the paper provides some potential explanations for donors’ behaviour, their collective failure to implement country concentration has very little consequence in theory or in practice. Attention would be better spent on identifying and putting into practice other ways of improving aid effectiveness.

African Affairs, vol. 111, no. 443, pp. 244-260, Apr 2012

This article examines the demand for criminal accountability for the atrocities committed after K... more This article examines the demand for criminal accountability for the atrocities committed after Kenya's contested December 2007 elections. It explains why, despite strong popular desire for accountability through prosecutions and the threat of and actual International Criminal Court (ICC) involvement, the government has failed to take concrete steps to try those believed primarily responsible. The article argues that the fundamental reason why the government has not initiated systematic prosecutions in regular domestic courts – or created, as promised, a hybrid national/international tribunal – is that those in charge of establishing these processes are, in many cases, those whom it would prosecute or their close allies. A hybrid tribunal now seems unlikely and credible national trials are an improbable alternative, though there are some reasons to be more optimistic following the new constitution of 2010. For the time being only international justice, which is beyond the government's reach, can achieve a breakthrough in criminal accountability, albeit in a very limited way.

International Criminal Law Review, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 219-44, 2012

Following contested elections in late 2007, Kenya experienced brief but significant violence. Int... more Following contested elections in late 2007, Kenya experienced brief but significant violence. International pressure and diplomacy led to a coalition government, and a commission of inquiry recommended the creation of an internationalized criminal tribunal or International Criminal Court (ICC) involvement, should a tribunal not be created. The government of Kenya both promised to create a hybrid tribunal and to cooperate with the ICC, yet has arguably done neither, engaging in delaying tactics for about a year before the prosecutor requested approval to open an investigation. The specific situation presented by Kenya requires careful analysis of two key principles of admissibility in the Rome Statute, gravity and complementarity. This article, based on fieldwork and interviews in Kenya and in The Hague and on judicial decisions and prosecutorial policy documents, examines the treatment of these to date, emphasizing the use and abuse of the concept of positive complementarity.

Revue Tiers Monde, nº 205, pp. 85-100, Mar 2011

La Cour pénale internationale (CPI) a autorisé, en 2010, l’ouverture d’une enquête officielle sur... more La Cour pénale internationale (CPI) a autorisé, en 2010, l’ouverture d’une enquête officielle sur les violences qui ont ravagé le Kenya à la suite des élections présidentielles de 2007. C’est la première fois dans le pays que les principaux responsables de violences électorales qui sévissent depuis 1990 sont poursuivis de manière crédible par une instance judiciaire. La CPI apparaît pour le Kenya comme le seul espoir de rompre avec la complète impunité qui caractérise le pays, ce qui constituerait une contribution sans précédent. Néanmoins, au-delà de la condamnation d’un nombre restreint d’individus, un grand nombre d’attentes se révèlent irréalistes.

Katherine Scott, Laura Macdonald and Stuart Trew, eds. The Trudeau Record: Promise v. Performance. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, pp. 280-290, 2024

A couple of years after it was first elected, the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau positioned... more A couple of years after it was first elected, the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau positioned Canadaand itself-as a global leader by releasing the world's first Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP). Widely praised, the policy was heralded as a much-needed innovative approach to pressing global issues, especially in the wake of Canada's declining commitment to international development during the last few years of the Conservative government under Stephen Harper. Moving beyond the initial hype around FIAP, this chapter traces the process that led to the new aid policy's adoption, considers its content, assesses its impact and explores its slow decline. I situate my analysis within the context of Canada's aid program and the vagaries of the Trudeau government, from parliamentary majority to minority, and towards another challenging re-election campaign, keeping in mind the broader context of a global development landscape in flux. The latter includes the rise of the Global South as providers of development cooperation, evolving understandings of aid effectiveness, the adoption in 2015 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The portrait that emerges is of a policy that has had some positive concrete impact, notably in increased funding for women's groups in the Global South, but that has failed to live up to its feminist transformative potential because of the Liberal government's lack of political and financial commitment. In addition, FIAP is increasingly neglected by a government that has other priorities, while civil society organizations (CSOs) working in the development sector have limited influence over its direction and are reluctant to criticize the government. As a result, overall, Canada's aid program shares many elements of the policies of the previous Conservative government and, despite the Liberals' claims to the contrary, Canada is poorly placed to demonstrate leadership in international development issues on the global stage. Moreover, FIAP is bound to be dropped once the Liberals are no longer in power, probably accompanied by cuts to the aid budget.

Viktor Jakupec, Max Kelly and Michael de Percy, eds. COVID-19 and Foreign Aid: Nationalism and Global Development in a New World Order. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, pp. 222-245, 2023

This chapter compares Canada’s and France’s policies and practices regarding COVID-19 vaccines. I... more This chapter compares Canada’s and France’s policies and practices regarding COVID-19 vaccines. It asks to what extent they advance domestic interests versus international ones and what the impact is on their influence in the world. The two countries both have a history of global health diplomacy and share a desire to play an important role on the world stage. The COVID pandemic provided them with an opportunity to exercise that commitment. Both countries quickly embraced, at the rhetorical level, the need to address the global crisis via multilateral channels, including to ensure an equitable distribution of vaccines. How they acted, however, differed considerably. The Canadian government took a strong “Canada First” position, in spite of verbal and some financial support for multilateral responses, and impeded patent waivers that would increase global vaccine production. By taking actions that would prolong the pandemic at the global level, Canada also behaved to the detriment of its global “soft power”. France, on the other hand, acted more multilaterally and strategically from the perspective of soft power, and reversed its initial self-interested position on intellectual property rights. We argue that Canada’s and, to a lesser extent, France’s domestic policy objectives undermined their global health diplomacy efforts and ultimately acted against their own interests, both in terms of health outcomes and being able to exercise influence in global affairs, especially in the Global South. By emphasizing approaches characterized by selfishness and charity, rather than equity and justice, they are also, along with their counterparts in the Global North, undermining the credibility of Northern aid donors more generally and the legitimacy of the aid regime.

In David Carment and Richard Nimijean, eds. Political Turmoil in a Tumultuous World: Canada Among Nations 2020. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 251-272, 2021

This chapter traces the evolution of Canadian aid in the first year of the Trudeau minority gover... more This chapter traces the evolution of Canadian aid in the first year of the Trudeau minority government, beginning with an examination of the electoral context and its immediate aftermath. It then analyzes the impact of COVID-19 on the aid landscape. The unlikelihood of a significant increase in the aid budget means that pandemic-related spending will come at the expense of other sectors. Changes in aid delivery that have resulted from the pandemic, namely a growing focus on short-term welfare, an increasingly multilateral approach to aid delivery, and a process of localization, may not persist post-COVID-19. Similarly, the shift in rhetoric towards more enlightened self-interest may be reversed once the world emerges from the coronavirusinduced crisis. The chapter concludes, first, by highlighting the Liberals' and Conservatives' shared lack of interest in changing Canada's current level of engagement with international development. Second, it suggests that the pandemic's potential to impel lasting changes to the Canadian aid program will depend primarily on the political will to resist post-pandemic pressure to cut the aid budget significantly and realign aid with narrowly defined self-interest.

Rebecca Tiessen and Stephen Baranyi, eds. Omissions and Obligations: Canada’s Ambiguous Actions on Gender Equality. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, pp. 69-90, 2017

Pierre Beaudet, Paul Haslam, Dominique Caouette et Abdelhamid Benhmade (dir.). Enjeux et défis du développement international : Acteurs et champs d’action, édition nouvelle et actualisée. Ottawa, Presses de l’Université d’Ottawa, pp. 249-253, 2019

A Samaritan State Revisited: Historical Perspectives on Canadian Foreign Aid. Edited by Greg Donaghy and David Webster. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, pp. 311-329, 2019

The artwork on the cover of this book is not open access and falls under traditional copyright pr... more The artwork on the cover of this book is not open access and falls under traditional copyright provisions; it cannot be reproduced in any way without written permission of the artists and their agents. The cover can be displayed as a complete cover image for the purposes of publicizing this work, but the artwork cannot be extracted from the context of the cover of this specific work without breaching the artist's copyright.

How Ottawa Spends, 2017-2018, 2017

Edited by Katherine A.H. Graham and Allan M. Maslove. Ottawa: Carleton University.

The terrorist attacks on the US in 2001 precipitated a new era of securitization of foreign aid. ... more The terrorist attacks on the US in 2001 precipitated a new era of securitization of foreign aid. To differing extents, all of the country cases in this volume have increasingly linked their aid budgets with security concerns since then, albeit unevenly. Our goal has been to develop an enhanced understanding of this trend. However, as the contributors have individually and collectively demonstrated, nuance and context-specificity are vital. Even for a single donor government, generalizations can be difficult to make across institutions and programs. Moreover, because of the variations between the cases, not all of our findings apply equally to all of them. Though we cannot offer facile assessments or easy answers, we hope to provide the reader with a broader perspective and heightened appreciation of the issues.

Handbook on the Economics of Foreign Aid, 2015

Duane Bratt and Christopher J. Kukucha, eds. Readings in Canadian Foreign Policy: Classic Debates and New Ideas. Third Edition, pp. 467-81., 2015

Stephen Brown, Molly den Heyer and David R. Black, eds. Rethinking Canadian Aid, Second Edition, pp. 1-13., 2016

Stephen Brown, Molly den Heyer and David R. Black, eds. Rethinking Canadian Aid, Second Edition, pp. 273-294., 2016

Stephen Brown, Molly den Heyer and David R. Black, eds. Rethinking Canadian Aid, Second Edition, pp. 295-311., 2016

Vandana Desai and Robert B. Potter, eds. The Companion to Development Studies. Third Edition. London: Routledge, pp. 539-42., Mar 10, 2014

Hany Besada and Shannon Kindornay, eds. Multilateral Development Cooperation in a Changing Global Order. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 158-88, Jul 5, 2013

Yiagadeesen Samy and Rohinton Medhora, eds. Canada Among Nations 2013 – Canada-Africa Relations: Looking Back, Looking Ahead. Waterloo, ON: CIGI, pp. 181-194., Jul 2013

Nic Cheeseman, David M. Anderson and Andrea Scheibler, eds. Routledge Handbook of African Politics. London: Routledge, pp. 404-13., Mar 8, 2013

Most African countries were democracies at the time of their independence, but by the late 1980s ... more Most African countries were democracies at the time of their independence, but by the late 1980s very few democracies remained. In the early 1990s, Western governments announced that democracy promotion would be a cornerstone of their aid to countries in Africa and elsewhere. However, twenty years later, remarkably few African countries can truly be described as democracies. Why did Western aid donors suddenly emphasise democracy in the early 1990s? Why is the track record of democracy promotion so poor? How serious are donors about promoting democracy when faced with competing foreign policy objectives? What enables African countries to resist pressure to democratize? And why has democracy promotion declined in the past decade?

This article reviews Keith Spicer’s 1966 book on Canada’s foreign aid program, A Samaritan State?... more This article reviews Keith Spicer’s 1966 book on Canada’s foreign aid program, A Samaritan State? External Aid in Canada’s Foreign Policy. Spicer’s essentially realist perspective on the reasons why Canada did and should provide development assistance is not only inconsistent with more recent views that justify aid at least in part on humanitarian grounds; it is also difficult to support even from the evidence he presents. The article concludes by comparing Spicer’s views with recent developments in Canadian foreign aid policy, suggesting that Spicer might well approve of the self-interested nature of current policy—but that he would be unlikely to embrace the narrow, short-term perspectives that underpin it, which could hurt Canada’s standing internationally.

In the early 1990s, after the collapse of the communist bloc and the end of the Cold War, democra... more In the early 1990s, after the collapse of the communist bloc and the end of the Cold War, democracy seemed triumphant. Numerous Western foreign policymakers, commentators and academics expressed unbridled optimism. In the most extreme case, Francis Fukuyama spoke of the coming "end of history", at which point all governments would be and forever remain liberal democracies.

Ottawa: McLeod Group (11 pp.), Mar 2013

Policy Paper, Centre on Human Rights in Conflict, University of East London, Aug 2010

Policy Brief, Ottawa: North-South Institute, Aug 2008

On June 17 and 18, 2008, The North-South Institute1 held a conference in Ottawa entitled Does aid... more On June 17 and 18, 2008, The North-South Institute1 held a conference in Ottawa entitled Does aid work? Can it work better? Crucial questions on the road to Accra and Doha. Participants from around the globe analyzed how to improve the impact and effectiveness of foreign aid, within the broader context of development cooperation and financing.

These issues are particularly timely in the lead up to two international meetings that are expected to have a major policy impact: the Accra High-Level Forum on the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (to be held in Ghana in September 2008) and the Doha Review Conference on Financing for Development (Qatar, November 2008).

This policy note draws on key findings from the conference to analyze some of the challenges associated with improving aid effectiveness and impact. It makes a number of policy recommendations, directed particularly at donors.

OpenCanada.org website, Centre for International Governance Innovation, 2018

For this final entry, we consider the edited book experience from a contributing author’s point o... more For this final entry, we consider the edited book experience from a contributing author’s point of view… What follows is advice from Stephen Brown, a professor of political science at the University of Ottawa.

The Canadian government has been lauded for its efforts to increase the transparency of its forei... more The Canadian government has been lauded for its efforts to increase the transparency of its foreign aid. Still, questions remain about the depth of transparency on Canadian aid and about the accessibility of the information on offer.

In 2013, when Canada abolished CIDA, its stand-alone aid agency, and integrated the agency’s work... more In 2013, when Canada abolished CIDA, its stand-alone aid agency, and integrated the agency’s work into the new Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD, now Global Affairs Canada), the government argued that the expanded mandate would “improve foreign policy coherence and boost the impact that foreign aid and development work can have on less-developed countries”. That sounded promising. In fact, though, there has been very little evidence of policy coherence for development over these past three years.

Expectations were low, but the federal budget released on March 22 provides little concrete encou... more Expectations were low, but the federal budget released on March 22 provides little concrete encouragement in the area of international development.

Blog entry, Centre for International Policy Studies, University of Ottawa, March 16, 2016 • Publi... more Blog entry, Centre for International Policy Studies, University of Ottawa, March 16, 2016 • Published in French as « La migration, une menace à l’aide au développement ? ». Blogue Un seul monde, Huffington Post Québec, March 14, 2016.

Toronto Star, October 15, 2015

How commercial gain came to replace poverty reduction as the primary goal of Canadian foreign aid.

Blog, Centre for International Policy Studies, University of Ottawa, January 11, 2015

This article analyses how alternative power-sharing mechanisms can be used to secure peace in cou... more This article analyses how alternative power-sharing mechanisms can be used to secure peace in countries where warring parties fail to reach a traditional power-sharing agreement, the most common method of solving the 'credible commitment' problem. By examining the cases of Angola and Mozambique, it demonstrates how 'soft' guarantees — in these cases, on the integration of armed forces and access to financial and material resources for rebel leaders — can help end civil wars. The non-binding nature of these pledges, however, also facilitated the ruling parties' progressive withdrawal from them, which has set back the democratisation process in both countries. This in turn may put at risk future peace and development.

The New Regionalism in Africa, 2017

Revue Tiers Monde, 2011

Justice pénale internationale et violences électorales : les enjeux de la CPI au Kenya », Revue T... more Justice pénale internationale et violences électorales : les enjeux de la CPI au Kenya », Revue Tiers Monde, nº 205 (mars 2011), pp. 85-100. Résumé La Cour pénale internationale (CPI) a autorisé en 2010 l'ouverture d'une enquête officielle sur les violences qui ont ravagé le Kenya à la suite des élections présidentielles de 2007. C'est la première fois dans le pays que les principaux responsables de violences électorales qui sévissent depuis 1990 sont poursuivis de manière crédible par une instance judiciaire. La CPI apparaît pour le Kenya comme le seul espoir de rompre avec la complète impunité qui caractérise le pays, ce qui constituerait une contribution sans précédent. Néanmoins, au-delà de la condamnation d'un nombre restreint d'individus, un grand nombre d'attentes se révèlent irréalistes.

Third World Quarterly, 2007

This article focuses on four sub-Saharan countries that offer different insights into postcolonia... more This article focuses on four sub-Saharan countries that offer different insights into postcolonial democratic experiences on the continent. Botswana has enjoyed decades of uninterrupted multiparty politics (but single-party rule) under a political system that mixes Western-style liberal democracy with traditional top-down structures. Benin has democratised rapidly and relatively successfully after a long period of dictatorial rule, providing a transition model for several other African countries. Kenya's former ruling party reluctantly permitted a multiparty system in 1991, but resisted further democratisation and remained in power for another decade by manipulating (at times violently) the transition process. In Burundi, democracy was severely undermined in 1993, when army extremists assassinated the first freely elected president, sparking waves of retributional 'ethnic' violence that have recently subsided, but not yet ended, despite positive developments in the political transition process. After presenting these cases, the authors explore competing explanations for success and failure in democratic transitions and survival by focusing on voluntaristic and structural factors particularly relevant to the continent. The comparative case study approach, supplemented by these thematic investigations, allow the authors to consider the continent's grave impediments to democratisation and how they might be overcome, as well as critically evaluate alternatives to the dominant Western model of liberal democracy.

Latin American Perspectives, 2002

Brown / THE LESBIAN AND GAY MOVEMENT IN ARGENTINA "Con discriminación y represión no hay democrac... more Brown / THE LESBIAN AND GAY MOVEMENT IN ARGENTINA "Con discriminación y represión no hay democracia" The Lesbian and Gay Movement in Argentina by Stephen Brown Lesbian and gay activism now circles the globe, but it is vastly understudied. Not even the latest syntheses of contemporary social-movement theory discuss lesbian and gay movements to any significant degree (see McAdam, McCarthy, and Zald, 1996). 1 Even the most important works on "social theory" tend to ignore sexuality (Warner, 1993: ix). A lack of activism cannot explain this deficiency, since formal lesbian and gay organizations have existed in the United States since the 1950s and have become prominent in North America and Western Europe in the past 30 years. During the past decade, many developing countries have become the sites of burgeoning movements as well. Lesbian and gay organizations now exist in every country in Latin America, some of them dating back to the mid-1980s (Drucker, 1996: 92), yet only one of the major volumes on social movements in Latin America addresses sexual orientation or identity (see MacRae, 1992, on Brazil). Argentina hosts a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender movement 2 that is sometimes quite visible and results in concrete political advances, such as the inclusion in 1996 of a clause in the municipal constitution of Buenos Aires that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In this 119 Stephen Brown is a postdoctoral fellow in the University of Toronto's Department of Political Science. He is currently revising a book manuscript on foreign aid and political reform in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on Kenya and Malawi. He is also researching the role of the international community in the prevention of violent conflict in Kenya. His recent publications include articles in Third World Quarterly and Southern Africa Report.

Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 2009

This contribution analyses Western governments' responses to the 2008 Kenyan crisis. It argues th... more This contribution analyses Western governments' responses to the 2008 Kenyan crisis. It argues that while donors' reactions to the crisis were a vast improvement over their responses to previous elections and eruptions of political violence, they failed to learn some important lessons from the past and take a more proactive role in preventing violence, notably because they disregarded key governance problems that made violence easily imaginable, if not utterly predictable. Moreover, by focusing on ending the violence as quickly as possible, donors placed greater priority on peace than on justice or democracy, a trade-off that undoubtedly saved many lives but compromises the political reform agenda and carries significant future risks for Kenya and other countries.

Democratization, 2011

Most sub-Saharan African countries are neither liberal democracies, nor fully authoritarian. Offi... more Most sub-Saharan African countries are neither liberal democracies, nor fully authoritarian. Officials from Western governments that provide assistance to these 'hybrid regimes' often become apologists for their lack of democracy. Rather than cogently arguing why democracy promotion activities should not be a priority, such donor officials frequently claim either that their host country is more democratic than it actually is, or that it could not be any more democratic for the time being. Drawing on some 70 interviews with donor officials in three African countries-Kenya, Malawi and Rwanda-over a period of more than decade, this article examines numerous individuals' common use of three methods to deflect criticism of the democratic credentials of their host countries: 1) focusing on election day, rather than the campaign and conditions as a whole; 2) setting the standard very low (don't expect too much); and 3) setting a long time horizon (don't expect it too soon). Perhaps equally important, the article also explores the various reasons why these donor officials make such excuses for authoritarian practices.

Third World Quarterly, 2001

Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne des Études Africaines, 2004

This article revisits the causes of Malawi's "model" transition to multipartyism (1992-94) and ex... more This article revisits the causes of Malawi's "model" transition to multipartyism (1992-94) and examines how the process subsequently influenced the country's political life. It argues that foreign aid donors played a crucial role in the timing and relative smoothness of the transition, but that their centrality at that key moment undermined the subsequent ability of domestic actors to defend the gains made, let alone press for further democratisation. Democratic governance visibly deteriorated between 1994 and 2004. The presidency remained overly powerful and insufficiently accountable and no other actorsother branches of government, opposition political parties, or civil society organisations-were able to check the executive's abuses, other than in rare instances of church-led political mobilisation. Though external donors were reluctant to assume that role, they are essential players to defend and promote democratisation in Malawi. Précis Cet article fait un retour sur les causes de la transition « modèle » au multipartisme du Malawi (1992-94) et considère comment ce processus a par la suite influencé la vie politique nationale. Il soutient que les donateurs d'aide au développement ont joué un rôle déterminant du moment et de la nature relativement pacifique de la transition, mais que leur centralité à ce moment-clé a miné la capacité des acteurs domestiques de défendre les avances qui ont été faites, sans parler de faire avancer la démocratisation. La gouvernance démocratique a visiblement détérioré entre 1994 et 2004 et la présidence est demeurée trop puissante et insuffisamment imputable. Aucun autre acteur, que ce soit les autres branches du gouvernement, les partis politiques d'opposition ou les organisations de la société civile, a pu servir de contrepoids aux abus du pouvoir exécutif, à part de rares cas de mobilisation politique menée par les églises. Même s'ils hésitent à assumer ce rôle, les donateurs externes sont des acteurs essentiels pour la défense et la promotion de la démocratisation au Malawi.

Centre on Human Rights in Conflict, Policy Paper, Aug 1, 2010

Abstract: The International Criminal Court (ICC) provides the most promising, and potentially onl... more Abstract: The International Criminal Court (ICC) provides the most promising, and potentially only, venue for accountability for those most responsible for serious post-election violence in Kenya.• International scrutiny, specifically the involvement of Kofi Annan and diplomatic pressure, sought to promote a resolution to violence and gave weight to the recommendations of a domestic commission of inquiry, but were unable to ensure domestic or hybrid accountability proceedings.• The ICC is expected by many in Kenya and beyond ...

Working Paper, Dec 2016

This paper examines the application of the first two principles of the 2005 Paris Declaration on ... more This paper examines the application of the first two principles of the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, namely ownership and alignment, to the cases of Mali and Ghana. It argues that Western donors and recipient governments have adopted the Paris Principles mainly in form, rather than in substance, not because of a lack of capacity but rather due primarily to a lack of will, related to interests and incentives on both sides to maintain the pre-Paris status quo. As a result, the impact on Mali's and Ghana's relationships with their traditional donors has been minimal and short-lasting. To the extent that donors and recipients have not significantly changed their practices in either Mali (a poor, fragile, aid-dependent country with low state capacity) or Ghana (a wealthier and more stable country with greater capacity), it seems unlikely that they will be able to apply the Paris Principles elsewhere. Together, the cases of Mali and Ghana, placed in a broader context, suggest that the Paris Agenda is dying.