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Rachel M. Gisselquist is Professor in Governance and Development, and Director of the Governance and Social Development Resource Centre (GSDRC), at the University of Birmingham (UoB), UK.Prior to joining UoB in September 2024, she was a Senior...
About one-fourth of total Swedish overseas development assistance is currently in the area of democracy and human rights, which is about twice as much as the average for OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) countries.
At the same time, the evidence base on the impact of democracy assistance on democratic outcomes remains controversial. Across the literature, the relationship is arguably mixed. Moreover, comparatively few studies focus on democracy aid specifically – as distinct from aid more generally – and there are challenges in its measurement and operationalization. More clarity would be beneficial also on the question of which aid modalities are most effective in enhancing democracy and why.
This project, which is supported by the Swedish Expert Group for Aid Studies (EBA), continues UNU-WIDER’s long engagement with research on foreign aid. It includes comprehensive review of the literature and data on these topics, as well as new quantitative analysis on the effects of international and Swedish democracy support on democratic outcomes for the period of 1995–2017.
The research addresses SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Theme: 2019-23, Transforming states