Donor policy domains in official development assistance: ideas, actors and rules in and beyond Asia

This article appreciates that official development assistance (ODA) policy is a complex area of a donor country’s policy-making, within a broader foreign policy domain. The literature on ODA policy-making does not have a common analytical approach, with discussions of specific amounts of aid existing alongside those of it as an aggregated phenomena. Policy scholars are especially interested in exploring policy content, delineating goals, objectives and settings, and identifying actors, ideas and rules that are prevalent in any particular policy area. Applying thinking from policy studies to an analysis of ODA policy highlights significant characteristics, ideas, actors and rules that comprise the ODA policy domain. This approach is useful concerning both long-term traditional Western donors and newer or rising donors, including Asian donors. It facititates a description of the ODA policy domain, which scholars and advocates can use to develop a comprehensive understanding of any individual donor’s ODA policy. It can improve knowledge and action about ODA policy, and potentially lead to greater sustainable development outcomes in countries that receive ODA.