Dr Sebastian Haug discussed China’s direct and indirect influence on international development, as well as the current situation of Austrian development cooperation in the context of current debates in Germany.
© ÖFSE/Klemens Lobnig
On 20 February, the Austrian Research Foundation for International Development (ÖFSE) organised a public event in Vienna. Under the title “Quo vadis, development policy?” it focused on the current contours of Austrian development cooperation and the global context in which Western donor countries operate. Dr Sebastian Haug had been invited to analyse the effects of current crises and geopolitical shifts on international cooperation. Together with representatives of the Austrian Foreign Ministry and Austrian civil society, Haug spoke on a panel moderated by Dr Werner Raza, Head of ÖFSE. Haug underlined how China was changing the field of international development in direct and indirect ways and placed questions about Austrian development cooperation in the context of current debates in Germany and other donor countries. The subsequent discussion focussed, among other things, on the role of the Global South, the United Nations as a potential alternative to bilateral development cooperation, as well as efforts to place effectiveness at the centre of global development policy.
