State-Building and the Politics of International Aid in the Post-Colonial Globalised South

This course focuses on the processes of State- and Nation-building, their models, changes and evolutions during the XXth century in the so-called 'Third World' countries, from the last phases of colonization through independence to the globalization era. The relevance, effectiveness and impact of international (humanitarian and/or development) aid at the national and at the local level, as well as the influence of the main international actors (the UN, INGOs, bilateral cooperation agencies…) will constitute the main field of analysis to critically question the processes of State-building, failure and reconstruction in the post-colonial period, and in conflict, post-conflict and transition contexts during the post- Cold War period in particular. Development and humanitarian aid programs carry diverse forms of planned socio-political change. As social activities, they include different principles, choices, processes of decision-making, modes of organisation and therefore power relationships. As a political field of analysis, the international aid system is made up of a set of ideas and ideologies, of values and norms, institutions, social actors and practices. In this sense, this course aims at identifying and studying the concepts and practices of political change through State-building ‘exported’ by the international cooperation The politics of international aid policies will also help in studying the patterns of political transitions to democracy and the role of civil societies during the past three decades marked by the consolidation of liberal ideologies. The interdisciplinary approach of the course will favor the perspectives of political sociology and anthropology, history and political economy.