DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATION AS ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY? Arjan de Haan To be published in The Hague Journal of Diplomacy 6(1-2) Abstract This article explores the role of international development cooperation, or aid, in foreign policy and diplomacy. Based on my experience as practitioner, I make the observation that the development debate and particular the search for aid effectiveness has neglected the political role of aid. Moreover, the high political symbolism that aid has obtained particularly in the last decade has received relatively little attention. A political perspective on aid is now rapidly becoming more important, including because of the enhanced importance of global security in setting the aid agenda, and as old ways of working are – or seem to be – challenged by the rise of China and other countries that were recently (and still) recipients of aid. An understanding of the diverse political motives behind aid should inform the way that aid effectiveness is measured. The changing politics in which aid is embedded are illustrated with reference to the Netherlands, which used to have one of the most respected aid programmes, including because of its multilateral emphasis and ‘untying’ of aid, and now has made Dutch strategic interests one of the cornerstones of its new policy. The article hypothesizes that a reinforcement of progressive principles around international development can be a supportive element of a strengthened diplomacy in the globalized world beyond 2010. 1. Introduction Aid, or international development assistance or cooperation, is big business. Total global aid flows, from North to South, are probably worth over $150 billion annually, a third of which goes to Africa. The need to maintain levels of aid after the financial crisis was an important part of the discussion of leaders of the G8 and G20, and the debates at the G20 meeting in South Korea brought to the table a new Asian development model, thus reflecting the shift of power from West to East but with that continued interest in aid. China and India are rapidly entering the field of aid providers, following the emergence of Japan, South Korea, and others, and simultaneous to a re-emergence of US’s interest in aid under the administration of President George Bush. While an ever-increasing number of celebrities and former Presidents provide support to international development issues, private philanthropies also have become significant, with the resources of the Gates Foundation, for example, outstripping the annual budget of major official