programs. For much of the 1980s, aid was thus adapted to the impera-
tives of adjustment policies, either to hasten their implementation
or to compensate for their negative social effects.^91 In the 1990s, the
donor community then shifted its objectives to promote good gov-
ernance. This catch-all concept served at times to strengthen the rule
of law – a result welcomed by all – but it was also often used to ease
the adoption of policies favoring market expansion. It was, for
example, in the name of good governance that governments of the
South were asked to privatize public services and foster public–private
partnerships.
More recently, the conservative influence on aid policies has made
itself felt through the emphasis put on the fight against terrorism.
The inclusion of this issue in the aid regime – due, of course, to the
September 11, 2001 attacks and to the subsequent war on terrorism –
was made official by donor countries in 2003.^92 The struggle against
terrorism then justified a redirection of aid resources toward certain
countries (Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan notably) in response to
geo-political interests. In 2005, for instance, debt forgiveness grants
to Iraq amounted to nearly $14 billion. More generally, the fight
against terrorism led to an increasing overlap between development
and security financing. Highly critical of this tendency toward a
“securitization of development aid,”^93 the left has constantly repeated
that the defeat of terrorism is impossible in the absence of a war on
poverty; these arguments, however, have been to little avail.
Conclusion
In the last two decades of the twentieth century, the global right
gained the upper hand. Communism was no longer a threat, democracy
was on the rise around the world, and social-democratic prescriptions
for state intervention seemed less convincing than the new breed of
(^91) Olav Stokke, “Foreign Aid: What Now?,” in Olav Stokke (ed.),Foreign Aid
towards the Year 2000: Experiences and Challenges, London, Frank Cass,
92 1996, pp. 73–74.
OECD,A Development Cooperation Lens on Terrorism Prevention: Key Entry
93 Points of Action, DAC Guidelines and References Series, Paris, OECD, 2003.
Ayodele Aderinwale, “The Securitization of Development Aid,” in The Reality
of Aid Management Committee,The Reality of Aid 2006: Focus on Conflict,
Security and Development, Quezon City and London, IBON Books and Zed
Books, 2006, pp. 88–106.
164 Left and Right in Global Politics