Abstract
The conference will explore the persistent debates around foreign aid, revealing how various tools such as structural adjustment programs, discussions of aid effectiveness, macroeconomic conditionality and rating agency perceptions of risk all reinforce the aid-driven logic. This logic is reflected in initiatives such as the Cotonou and Lomé Conventions, as well as the EU's numerous agreements with North African countries, underpinned by the notion of charity. Indeed, African and European actors tend to focus on fulfilling the external economic obligations of African countries as a measure of success, rather than advocating profound changes within these countries, in stark contrast to the approaches adopted in other regions, notably Asia. The conference will highlight the fact that the end of the era of structural adjustment programs offered a window of opportunity to move away from this charity-based perspective, but that, unfortunately, this change was short-lived. She will explore the reasons for this missed opportunity, shedding light on the factors that contributed to this outcome.
