International Studies Review Vol. 14 No.1

Beyond Aid Effectiveness?:
Private and Public Partnerships in South Korea’s Official
Development Assistance (ODA) Strategy as Soft Power
Strength and Weakness

IAIN WATSON

In 2009 Hubbard and Duggan published their book ‘The
Aid Trap’ which argued that a thriving private business
sector in the recipient country must be encouraged.
Otherwise foreign aid simply reinforces debt, poverty
and dependency. This debate between neoliberal and
neo-Keynesian approaches influenced the formation of
effective foreign aid `strategies from new ODA donors
such as South Korea. South Korea’s role in the ODA
debate represents a more general geopolitical shift by
emerging nations. The paper provides a critical assessment
of South Korea’s state-led and soft power ODA
policies by focusing on initiatives on aid effectiveness
and fostering private/public partnerships (PPP’s). The
paper goes on to critically consider and judge these eliteled
ODA initiatives by addressing a grassroots NGO
perspective.

Keywords: Foreign Aid, Aid Effectiveness, Civil Society,
Private and Public Partnerships