In the wake of globalisation and the end of the cold war, the first decade of the twenty-first century poses serious new challenges for developing countries in their international relations. This briefing summarizes cutting-edge research into the implications for developing countries of transformations in the international political, economic and social environment. The briefings report a seminar series held in Oxford in early 2000, supported by the Centre for International Studies and the Oxford Policy Institute.

A common theme running thought these seminars is the difficulty Western aid agencies, governments and international institutions experience in formulating more effective approaches to encouraging development, stability and democracy in developing countries. A new emphasis on partnership, ownership, selectivity, support and dialogue is prevalent in all international and regional organizations. However, it is equally clear that all organisations have a long way to go in fashioning methods and operations that capture and harness these values successfully.

The politics of aid and the use of conditionality: some issues for aid agencies

Stephen Jones, Oxford Policy Management

International investment treaties and developing countries

Valpy Fitzgerald, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford

The good governance agenda and developing countries

Christina Biebesheimer, Inter-American Development Bank

Global governance without politics: the limits of the Washington Consensus

Richard Higgott, Director ESRC Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation, University of Warwick

The third world and world order in the twenty-first century: the impact of intrusive regionalism

Amitav Acharya, Centre for Strategic Studies, York University, Ontario

Aiding democracy abroad: lessons from the late 1980s – 90s agencies

Thomas Carothers, Carnegie Endowment

The developing countries and the international financial architecture

Ngaire Woods, University College, Oxford

The politics of humanitarian ideas

Thomas Weiss, The Graduate Center, City University of New York

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