Multiple Chapters on "Strategic Partnerships With the EU and China"

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strategic partnerships with the EU and China benefit the political and economic development in Ghana?

Do strategic partnerships with the European Union and China benefit the political and economic development in Ghana?

Main agenda of the international development strategy for Ghana since the 1970s

This chapter deals with the historical background of the relationship between Ghana and major international donors since the 1970s. The period is important particularly because it represented the time when, on the one hand, the international community started to address the issue of development for the African countries and on the other hand, it provided the prolific timeline in Ghana's history, as a result of the general decolonization process. The focus of the chapter is on several key aspects. Firstly, it is important to considered previous engagements of developed donor countries. Secondly, the effectiveness of these engagements are essential in order to assess the impact previous development programs had on the Ghana society and government. This assessment is based on the UN's HDI (Human Development Index). Thirdly, despite the general positive trend of development programs in Ghana, there have been initiatives that failed to ensure the programmatic outcome. Therefore, it is important to view not only the underling elements that encourage donor countries to assist Ghana in these last four decades, but also some downfalls of this assistance.

1.1. Short history of the foreign aid programs launched by the economically developed donor countries

Ghana is largely seen as a success story in terms of the way in which

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it managed to use the donors; financial assistance to its benefit. However, this was not the case in the 70s when the issue of donors and development was relatively unchartered ground. For Ghana this was important largely due to the fact that in that period the political scene in the country did not resembled the current one. More precisely, there was a clear lack of democratic structure in the country, with deep-rooted political misconduct. However, the fact that Ghana had previously been a British colony helped the state organization to eventually regroup.

The beginnings of foreign aid in Ghana started, as stated above, in the 70s. However, at the time, scholars argue that the issue of foreign aid resembled more to clear cut welfare. More precisely, "foreign aid became part of Ghana's development complexities in the 1970s and 1980s. Critics describe aid prior to 1983 as almost welfare. This means essentially, foreign ODA inflows to Ghana began with the inception of the SAPs in 1983 under the PNDC government." (Andrews, 2010) This is an important aspect because it reveals on the one hand that at the time, the political scene in Ghana was not prepared for the change of mentality the development aid implied and, on the other hand, the development perspective and the philosophy of donor-based development aid was in its beginnings, despite previous experience with other countries. This is suggested by the fact that in the beginning, foreign aid was provided with clear reference on the political situation in the country. Indeed, even to this day it is rather difficult to organize donor conferences without a clear focus on the political aspects in those countries.

The history of donor aid is marked by the way in which the internal political structure changed in time from stability to coup d'etat to democracy. In this sense, there was little activity in the 60s and 70s when the political instability characterized the country. By the 80s the situation changed and "starting in 1985, however, a clear and sustained increase in aid flows occurred as donors perceived greater commitment by government to better economic management and economic reform. Indeed, between 1985 and 1995 total aid flows to Ghana increased threefold from U.S.$150.7 million to U.S.$450.8 million. For the past decade, aid flows to Ghana have provided an average of $570 in project and programme support" (Sowa, n.d.). Therefore, it can be pointed out that the intent to assist Ghana before the 1990s clearly depended on the political environment at the time.

Perhaps the first and most important donor or aid initiator during the 80s and the 90s was the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. According to Andrews, "there is no consensus on whether the reform was worthwhile but at least it removed the hand of the state from the economy and made the country more economically stable than it was before." (Andrews, What foreign aid can and can't do in Africa, 2010) in general the interventions of the IMF and the World Bank are not perceived in good terms especially from the point-of-view of the population. Most often the measures undertaken to lift a country from an economic crisis or financial instability are seen as unpopular because they stress the need for cost reductions, taxes, among others. However, for the 1980s, the intervention of the IMF in Ghana represented a wakeup call for the economic environment that was still kept in the socialist state run system.

Since the 70s there have been numerous donors that supported the Ghana government to emerge from poverty and eventually reach the development goal of becoming a medium economy by 2020.

Canada has been an essential donor for Ghana. According to Canada International Development Agency, "in 2004-2005, Canada's official development assistance to Ghana totaled $67 million" (Canada International Agency for Development, 2011). The major lines of development have been those related to poverty reduction, to the increase in the government capacity, and women empowerment.

Another important donor is China that started its more in depth relations with the African continent since the Cold War. In this sense, before the 1990s China had been a small but constant presence in Africa. Thus, "since 1960 China has provided development assistance under bilateral diplomatic relations mainly in the form of grants, loans and technical assistance. However, the amount was relatively small. For example, between 1960 and 1970 total Chinese aid to Ghana amounted to U.S.$43 million" (Mohan, 2010). Although the financial interventions were not very significant in terms of value, it was an important message to advocate as it was considered at the time that "the poor helped the poor" (Mohan, 2010).

Even so, the interests of China were not altruistic but rather strategic. In this sense, in the context of the Cold War, the grants and assistance provided by communist China to Africa represented in fact investments in strategic points on the globe. More precisely, the confrontations between the East and the West did not include directly China. However, China had been in great distress with the U.S.S.R. At the time due to the reinterpretation of the communist precepts China decided to make, in order to adjust to its natural and national specificity. Whereas the U.S.S.R. clearly refused such a change from the doctrine, the United States as well as other countries considered it an opportunity to gain ground in the Cold War. On the other hand, China, through its investments and development assistance, considered an extension of the area of influence.

Among other donors, Denmark, other European countries, tried to help Ghana achieve a better standard of living.

The goals of the donor countries were at the official level, similar. In this sense, it reflects the desire to improve the standard of life, assist the economy and its population. China for instance, offered loans and non-refundable financial resources for constructions, telecommunication networks, and transportation. Denmark has been assisting Ghana in programs related to governance or human rights.

1.2. Analysis of the effectiveness of the previously introduced developmental programs on the basis of the HDI data

It is rather hard to address the issue of effectiveness of development programs especially in countries such as Ghana. This is largely due to the fact that it is only in recent years that Ghana has taken a truly democratic path marked by subsequent free and democratic elections. Before this period, even the positive effects of the programs underwent by donor countries or assisting institutions did not represent added value for the population at hand. In this sense it is argued "the West spent $2.3 trillion on foreign aid in the last five years and still had not managed to get twelve- cent medicines to children to prevent half of all malaria deaths. The west spent $2.3 trillion and still had not managed to get four-dollar bed nets to poor families." (Easterly, 2006) This aspect comes to point out a grim situation on the actual results delivered by the West in their attempts to fight poverty and scarcity of resources and development.

There are several reasons considered for this general failure in Africa. One is more theoretical but it points out to a rather particular issue: that of development philosophy. More precisely, according to Easterly there are several development strategies. These include the "planners" and the "searchers." In his opinion, "searchers look for any opportunity to relieve suffering -- e.g. The cash for school program -- and don't get stuck on infeasible objectives (…) the planners (…)… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Strategic Partnerships With the EU and China" Assignment:

“

Dear Author,

I kindly ask you to prepare the sample for two chapters of my MA thesis.

In order to provide you with as much information as possible, I will send you the last version of my MA thesis prospectus. I will also provide you with the Table of contents, so that you can see what is the general idea of the paper.

It would be great if you could find the following books and use some quotations from them to back up the point:

1. The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for our Time by Jeffrey D. Sachs

2. The White Man*****s Burden: Why the West*****s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done so Much Ill and So Little Good by William Easterly

3. Why Foreign Aid is Not Working: THE TROUBLE WITH AFRICA by Robert Calderisi.

The two chapters that I expect you to research are:

(They have to be structured in the same order as they are placed in the table of contents.

Do strategic partnerships with the European Union and China benefit the political and economic development in Ghana?

*****¢ 1. Main agenda of the international development strategy for Ghana since the 1970*****s.

1.1. Short history of the foreign aid programs launched by the economically developed donor countries;

1.2. Analysis of the effectiveness of the previously introduced developmental programs on the basis of the HDI data;

1.3. The explicit and implicit motives of the donor countries to launch the strategic partnership programs for Ghana in the last four decades.

(This chapter will be dealing with the strategic goals of donor countries from the 1970*****s as well as analyze the impact of the implemented programs in the past. Some historic background will be given to the reader in order to demonstrate the way in which the impact of these initiatives reflected the fluctuations of the HDI*). It would be good if you could find some information on the development programs for Ghana, which failed to reach the goal of sustainable development (in political and economic spheres).

* HDI- human Development Index United Nations Development Programme*****'s 2010 Human Development Index has to be used as a tool to evaluate the effectiveness of the development programs. The UN represents in this sense one of the most accredited and useful resource for research largely because in its status as an international organization and development agent, it has provided extensive knowledge and experience in development aid and assistance. For the purpose of the research the latest HDI has to be used extensively to offer a starting point for the analysis on the situation in Ghana. The Human Development Index is crucial because it represents a composite index taking into account several aspects of life, from infant mortality to the level of literacy among adults.

2. Analysis of the political situation in Ghana: political corruption and lack of economic transparency.

2.1. Short introduction into the political system of Ghana;

2.2. Corruption on the political level: lack of economic transparency; (in the end of this subchapter, please shortly write about the improper resource allocation, as the consequence of the lack of economic transparency (please measure the inequality of a distribution by Gini coefficient)*

2.3. The consequences of the improper resources allocation. (Explain the general trends as the further throughout analysis of the European and Chinese funds allocation figures will be given in the following chapters).

This chapter will explain why only a limited amount of finances from the foreign assistance programs reaches the people of Ghana, as well as analyze the problems in the political mechanism of resource allocation.

* The Gini coefficient is a measure of the inequality of a distribution, a value of 0 expressing total equality and a value of 1 maximal inequality. It has found application in the study of inequalities in disciplines as diverse as sociology, economics, health science, ecology, chemistry and engineering.

I hope that you will be able to find the following books to analyze the political situation in Ghana:

1. What Foreign Aid Can and Can*****t do in Africa: Understanding the Context of Aid and Socio-Economic Development in Ghana by Nathan Andrews.

2. Population, Health and Development in Ghana: Attaining the Millennium Development Goals edited by Chuks J. Mba and Stephen O. Kwankye.

Below, you will find the MA thesis proposal. As later I will convert it into the introduction chapter, the chapters that I expect you to research DON*****'T HAVE TO INCLUDE THE GENERAL INTRODUCTION (only the short introduction to the subchapters)

Introduction

Today, given the Millennium Development Goals and the overall general movement on development, there is a constant tendency of the developed countries to provide increased attention and assistance to the African continent. In this sense, the US launched its Africa Development Foundation, China, in its turn established its China-Africa Development Fund, whereas the European Commission established a large part of its strategic partnerships with African states (Mohan 2010). However, these initiatives are not without criticism. Thus, it is considered by analysts that the new development programs established by the developed countries sometimes seem to be more beneficial for the donors, rather than for the direct beneficiaries, the African continent (Boafo- Arthur & Essuman-Johnson 2004). The majority of African countries may benefit from oil and mineral resources that have the potential of transforming economies. But, the general opinion among scholars is that these resources represent more a curse than a blessing. The opponents of the foreign development programs in Africa believe that the world*****s developed countries are more concerned with the potential economic benefit from African oil, copper and cobalt sources rather than with the sound end sustainable development of the African countries, in all of their economic, political, and most importantly social perspectives.

Given the nature of the debate raised by this constant discussion over foreign aid to Africa, its benefits and shortcomings, my thesis will an***** the way in which the development programs (strategic partnerships) underway in Africa benefited sustainable development. More precisely, the analysis will point out whether the new development programs encourage the transformation of the potential of natural resources into resources for human development, economic and political construction or, on the contrary, only foster the political and economic instability within some African states.

* As today the term *****˜development program***** has acquired a somewhat negative shade, the majority of the donors try to replace it by the more donor-friendly term ***** strategic partnership*****. For that reason, the term *****˜strategic partnership***** is more widely used in the development sphere nowadays than the term *****˜development program*****. The initial name of the topic was ***** Do Even though the name was changed, the essence of the topic is the same and the hypothesis was left unchanged.

Given the wide variety of characteristics inside the African continent, the thesis will focus on the example of Ghana and its relation with two of its important donors, the EU and China. More precisely, the focus is on the strategic partnerships undergone by the two donors and there impact on the political and economic development of Ghana. Ghana is a peaceful and stable democracy, which makes good progress toward its goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2020. In 2008 it was revealed that Ghana has substantial oil reserves which will become available in 2010.Ghana*****'s government anticipates that oil and gas will generate about $500 million in revenues in 2011. With economic growth rates even as high as 6 per cent over recent years, Ghana is *****an emerging African economic success story***** (CIDA 2010). However, even though this country is moving fast towards its economic development, Ghana ranks 130 out of 169 countries on the United Nations Development Programme*****'s 2010 human development index (UNDP 2010). Therefore, there is no doubt that Ghana still needs some innovative development programs (strategic partnerships), which will let its Development indicators increase in the nearest future. Both the EU and China promise to do that with the help of their development aid programs.

Even though Ghana is known for its stability and democratic government, the country has a poor record of managing finances transparently. Therefore, there are not only doubts concerning the hidden motives of the economic powers which are conducting their strategic partnerships in Ghana, but there are also some doubts about who in Ghana will benefit from such programs (Hope 2000). In this sense, my thesis also aims to identify whether the funds from the Chinese and European strategic partnerships benefits the Ghanaian power holders, or the people of Ghana. Thus, both of the above mentioned issues, of Ghana*****s *****˜external***** and *****˜internal***** benefit from the EU and Chinese strategic partnerships will be discussed.

Methodology

As the thesis aims to demonstrate the real-life data on the current development of the country, the United Nations Development Programme*****'s 2010 human development index will be used as a tool to evaluate the effectiveness of one or another development program. The UN represents in this sense one of the most accredited and useful resource for research largely because in its status as an international organization and development agent, it has provided extensive knowledge and experience in development aid and assistance. For the purpose of the research the latest HDR is used extensively to offer a starting point for the analysis on the situation in Ghana. Currently, according to the 2010 HDR, Ghana is on the 130th position, in the category of low human development index (UNDP 2010). More precisely, it is considered that Ghana is still an underdeveloped country. Even so, the UN Report on Least Developed Countries does not make reference to Ghana, a fact that is encouraging for the African state (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 2010).

The Human Development Index is crucial because it represents a composite index taking into account several aspects of life, from infant mortality to the level of literacy among adults. The shortcomings of the HDR consist mainly, as presented in the preface of the document, in the complete reliance on national statistics. In this sense, the facts and classifications are established according to national information sources that may be out-dated or may lack credibility.

HDR statistics will be used to process information from previous years and decades, which in turn enables a comparative analysis for economic and political development. In this sense for instance, given the fact that the international development strategy for Africa is known since the late 1970s, it is important to assess the way in which the impact of this initiative is reflected in the fluctuation of the HDI (Human Development Index). As an example, the index has slowly improved since the 80s, from 0.363 to 0.431 in 2000 to 0.467 in 2010. This improvement, by applying the cause-effect analysis method, can be viewed as a direct effect of international aid, including aid from China and the EU, or, on the other hand, as a natural development of the economic cycle. By providing input from research, scholars, and primary sources (development reports), this development will be (or will be not) demonstrated to have been a natural consequence of international assistance for development.

The Gini Coefficient (Wikipedia 2010) will be used to assess the sustainability of the development process and its inequality( 2nd chapter). In this sense, by comparison, the research points out that there is indeed a gap between the economic growth that is statistically visible and the social impact it has on the population. Better said, *****despite favorable economic conditions job creation has not matched economic growth, particularly in rural areas***** (UNDP Ghana 2010). Similar analysis will be made for other areas of the social and economic development with precise attention provided to sectors where Ghana has benefited from Chinese and European assistance such as constructions in industrial areas.

FULL TABLE OF CONTENTS

*****¢ Introduction

*****¢ 1. Main agenda of the international development strategy for Ghana since the 1970*****s.

1.1. Short history of the foreign aid programs launched by the economiclly developed donor countries;

1.2. Analysis of the effectiveness of the previously introduced developmental programs on the basis of the HDI data;

1.3. The explicit and implicit motives of the donor countries to launch the strategic partnership programs for Ghana in the last four decades.

( This chapter will be dealing with the strategic goals of donor countries from the 1970*****s as well as analyze the impact of the implemented programs in the past. Some historic background will be given to the reader in order to demonstrate the way in which the impact of these initiatives reflected the fluctuations of the HDI). It would be great if you could find the examples of the development programs that were not sustainable and â‡' harmed, but not benefited the economic and political development in Ghana in the past.

2. Analysis of the political situation in Ghana: political corruption and lack of economic transparency.

2.1. Short introduction into the political system of Ghana;

2.2. Corruption on the political level: lack of economic transparency;( measured by Gini coefficient)*

2.3. The consequences of the improper resources allocation. (Explain the general trends and state that the further throughout analysis of the European and Chinese funds allocation figures will be given in the following chapters).

This chapter will explain why only a limited amount of finances from the foreign assistance programs reaches the people of Ghana, as well as analyze the problems in the political mechanism of resource allocation .

*****¢ 3. Analysis of the EU-Ghana strategic partnership.

3.1. An overview of the EU-Ghana strategic Partnership;

3.2. The EU strategic benefit from the implementation of the program;

3.3. The allocation of the EU funds in Ghana;

3.4. The impact of the allocated funds on the political and economic development of Ghana, in terms of HDI.

In this chapter, a brief overview of the EU-Ghana relations will be given. More to this, it will be explained, why the EU decided to establish the partnership between the parties, but not to position itself as a donor for Ghana. The impact of the strategic partnership on the economic and political development of Ghana will be measured. The results will be compared to those of China, in order to analyze, which foreign aid model (a donor or a partner) is more effective in terms of positive impact on the political and economic development in Ghana. (HDI)

4. Analysis of the Chinese strategic partnership, launched by the China-Africa Development Fund.

3.1. An overview of the Chinese program for Ghana development, launched by the China-Africa Development Fund;

3.2. Chinese potential benefit from the introduction of the program in Ghana;

3.3. The allocation of the Chinese funds in Ghana;

3.4. The impact of the allocated funds on the political and economic development of the state.

In this chapter I will describe current relations between Ghana and one of its major donors, China. In this chapter, it will be explained what are the potential political and economic motives that drive China to become a donor for Ghana. The results will be measured.(HDI)

Each subchapter should contribute to answering the research question in one, or another way. MAIN RESEARCH QUESTION is the name of the topic. Second, less important research question is Who benefits more from the strategic partnerships: the EU/China, or Ghana?

If you will have any further questions, please, don*****'t hesitate to contact me

Regards

Julia

*****

*****

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