Putting our House in Order Recasting G8 policy towards Africa

Article

Arguing that the real obstacles to better policy towards Africa are not technical but political, the authors propose new mechanisms for placing Africa's interests higher on the international political agenda and making G8 countries accountable for the impact of their policies.

"Putting our House in Order offers fascinating new insights into the politics of G8 African policies on aid, debt, trade and arms sales and is innovative in its able establishment of the long-missing causality of the ineffectiveness of G8 development aid to Africa. For these reasons, it is essential reading for anyone involved with development policy, and presents a welcome new hope for African development and the potential for Africa to realise the promise of the Millennium Declaration"

-Development Policy Review

Putting Our House in Order is the most rigorous analysis yet of G8 policy failings towards Africa, including:

  • The misuse of aid and conditionality
  • Unfair trade rules
  • Arms proliferation
  • Corruption and conflict financing
  • Climate change.

Arguing that the real obstacles to better policy towards Africa are not technical but political, the authors propose new mechanisms for placing Africa's interests higher on the international political agenda and making G8 countries accountable for the impact of their policies. They show that the best thing G8 countries can do is to change those aspects of their existing policies that damage and disadvantage the continent.

Related items

  1. Street scene in financial district, London

    Rule of the market: How to lower UK borrowing costs

    The UK is paying a premium on its borrowing costs that ‘economic fundamentals’, such as the sustainability of its public finances, cannot fully explain. 
  2. A mother and child from behind looking out of a window

    Restoring security: Understanding the effects of removing the two-child limit across the UK

    The government’s decision to lift the two-child limit marks one of the most significant changes to the social security system in a decade.
  3. A group of healthcare professionals sitting in a staff common room in a hospital in Newcastle

    Building a healthier, wealthier Britain: Launching the IPPR Centre for Health and Prosperity

    Following the success of our Commission on Health and Prosperity, IPPR is excited to launch the Centre for Health and Prosperity.