Punctuated Equilibrium in the Regime Complex of International Development Cooperation

Apolinário Júnior, Laerte

doi:10.1590/S0102-8529.20234501e20210066

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RESEARCH ARTICLE • Contexto int. 45 (1) • Jan/Apr 2023 • https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-8529.20234501e20210066 copy

Punctuated Equilibrium in the Regime Complex of International Development Cooperation

Equilíbrio Pontuado no Complexo do Regime da Cooperação Internacional para o Desenvolvimento

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

In the past, International Development Cooperation (IDC) was an analogue for Official Development Assistance (ODA) in which three central institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (DAC/OECD) regulated the practices of donors and recipients. Recently, a far more complex and diversified scenario characterized by new actors and approaches is replacing this architecture. This paper analyses the transformations in the IDC field, interpreting these processes through an analytical framework of the sources of institutional change. One of its principal contributions is highlighting a pattern of “punctuated equilibrium” through a theory-guided historical analysis, that reflects both periods of stasis and innovation instead of a gradual process of change. We argue that innovation depends on dissatisfaction and shocks, and that the nature of invention depends on a homogeneity of interests among its prominent actors. This paper is based on a research agenda that applies the punctuated equilibrium concept of social theory to the analysis of international regime complexes.

Keywords
International Development Cooperation; Official Development Assistance; Regime Complexes; Institutional Innovation; Punctuated Equilibrium

	Dominant or rising institutions	Donor ideology	Donor focus	Main State actors
1940s - 1960s	Marshall Plan, UN System, Bilateral Cooperation Agencies	Planning, Support for the state in productive sectors	Reconstruction, productive sectors and infrastructure.	United States and other DAC countries
1970s	Expansion of Multilateral Organizations (World Bank, IMF and Regional Development Banks)	Continued support for the state activities in productive activities and meeting basic needs	Support for state activities against poverty, taken as agriculture and basic needs	DAC countries and emerging non-DAC donors (especially Arab countries)
1980s - 1990s	Prominence of Multilateral Organizations (IMF and World Bank) and NGOs	Market-based adjustments	Macroeconomic reform, poverty and governance	DAC countries
21 st Century	International Organisations (OECD, UN System, New Development Organisations)	Support to institutions and infrastructure	Poverty, governance and sustainable development	DAC countries, BRICS and other non-DAC donors

	Path-dependent innovation	Creation of new institutions
1940s-1960s	Establishment of Bilateral Cooperation Agencies and the DAC/OECD	Establishment of Cooperation programs by the USSR, the establishment of NAM, UNCTAD, and the G-77 by developing countries
1970s	Institutionalization of the ODA, World Bank expansion	Institutionalization of SSC, creation of IDC institutions by OPEC countries
1980s-1990s	IMF and World Bank reforms regarding their lending programs	-
21st Century	Aid effectiveness agenda of the OECD	Re-emergence of SSC, establishment of Chinese-sponsored development institutions

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[1] Laerte Apolinário Júnior is Professor of International Relations at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP). He is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Brazilian Center for Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP) and a Researcher at the Center for the Study of International Negotiations at the University of São Paulo (CAENI/USP), and the Center for Studies in International Relations at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (NERI/PUC-SP). He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of São Paulo (USP). His More recent publications include works on International Development Cooperation, Foreign Aid, Brazilian Technical Cooperation, International Financial Institutions, and the impact of economic sanctions on the level of protection of Human Rights.