Author: Andrew Rosser
Introduction
The main driver of Australian aid policy has always been the government's foreign policy and security objectives (Davis ). But to the extent that the Australian aid program has had development-related objectives, neo-liberalism has provided the framework for how these are to be achieved. As noted in the Introduction to this special section, the principles of neo-liberalism have permeated key government reports on aid policy, key ministerial statements on the Australian aid program, and a range of other aid policy documents since the late 1970s. This paper examines the politics underlying this situation. It suggests that the dominant influence of neo-liberalism on Australian aid policy reflects two factors: the interests and structural power of Australian business and the institutional context within which aid policy-making in Australia occurs. The interests and structural power of Australian business, it is argued, have made the Australian government, whether under the Australian Labor Party (ALP) or the Liberal-National Coalition, predisposed towards neo-liberal aid policies while the institutional context has enabled the government to exclude groups who oppose these policies from meaningful participation in the aid policy-making process. Full Article
Introduction
The main driver of Australian aid policy has always been the government's foreign policy and security objectives (Davis ). But to the extent that the Australian aid program has had development-related objectives, neo-liberalism has provided the framework for how these are to be achieved. As noted in the Introduction to this special section, the principles of neo-liberalism have permeated key government reports on aid policy, key ministerial statements on the Australian aid program, and a range of other aid policy documents since the late 1970s. This paper examines the politics underlying this situation. It suggests that the dominant influence of neo-liberalism on Australian aid policy reflects two factors: the interests and structural power of Australian business and the institutional context within which aid policy-making in Australia occurs. The interests and structural power of Australian business, it is argued, have made the Australian government, whether under the Australian Labor Party (ALP) or the Liberal-National Coalition, predisposed towards neo-liberal aid policies while the institutional context has enabled the government to exclude groups who oppose these policies from meaningful participation in the aid policy-making process. Full Article