Shifts in the European Union’s Aid Strategies towards Kenya, 1976-2015
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Date
2023
Authors
Gathu, Joseph Ndung’u
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
kenyatta university
Abstract
This thesis analysed the shifts in the European Union's aid strategies towards Kenya dated 1976 to 2015. It has delved into fractured epochs in the context of the European Union‘s aid interventions to Kenya during the Cold War power configuration, 1976 to 1989; the European Union‘s aid initiatives towards Kenya in the new world order, 1990– 1999; and the character of the European Union‘s aid approaches to Kenya in the evolving international system, 2000-2015. The scope of the study included transitions of European Union‘s aid strategies towards Kenya as a recipient aid developing country. The inquiry made use of rational choice theory. It employed a historical research design. Purposive sampling was adopted to select officials from the European Union Delegation to Kenya, Kenya Foreign Affairs and International Trade Ministry, and Kenya Ministry of National Treasury and Planning, and Kenya Institute of Economic Affairs. Derived data was collected within the study‘s time frame of 1976 to 2015. Primary data was obtained by use of interview schedules, archival sources, European Union, and Government of Kenya official documents. Secondary data was adopted from scholarly publications, including books, journal articles, working papers, and reports from the EU, Kenyan government, and OECD databases. Qualitative methodology was used to scrutinize the collected data. The analytical results were presented thematically in the form of a narrative. The findings, which also serve as complementary scholarly materials, prospectively aim at benefiting policymakers, the Kenyan government, the European Union, and other international actors. The findings of this research revealed that the European Union‘s domestic and external factors from the international system shaped the Union‘s aid strategies towards Kenya in the three epochs scrutinized in this study namely 1976-1989, 1990-1999, and 2000-2015. The necessity to confront long-term issues-in improving lives in developing nations and institutions while working with scarce resources, has pushed foreign assistance to the forefront as a means of facilitating development. Funding to enhance Kenya's well-being as a developing country has arisen as a crucial feature of adjustments in assistance tactics, particularly in the aftermath of repeated development issues. The emphasis on capacity development stems from the conviction that institutional flaws are the primary impediment to social-economic transformation. This means that, in order to be sustainable, development aid must foster local ownership, involvement, institutional building, and respect for local values. The concept of capacity development is a response to prior rational ideas of development that ignored the influence of context and the importance of local ownership. In addition, the research established insights into the alterations to the EU model of funding to African, Caribbean, and Pacific Countries (ACPs), including Kenya, through the European Development Fund (EDF) and EU General Budget Support (GBS). The revelations illustrate how the EU has re-invented its aid strategies to benefit its Member States' interests in Kenya and other Sub-Saharan African countrie
Description
A Thesis Submitted For the Award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations and Diplomacy in the School Of Law, Arts and Social Sciences of Kenyatta University
Keywords
European Union’s Aid, Kenya, 1976-2015