Linköping University | Department of Management and Engineering MSc in International and European Relations | Master’s thesis, 30 credits Spring 2021| LIU-IEI-FIL-A--21/03729--SE A comparative Study of the Scandinavian Development Cooperation Policies – Evaluating and Contrasting the Similarities and Differences between Denmark, Norway and Sweden Author: Jamila Zeynalzade Supervisor: Lars Niklasson Examiner: Khalid Khayati Linköping University SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden +46 013 28 10 00, www.liu.se Acknowledgements At the start, I want to express gratitude to my supervisor and professor Lars Niklasson who supported me with valuable advice and help for the research during this thesis period. He is a great mentor who guided me on many occasions. I thank my Father for inspiring me in international relations since my childhood. He is and will always be my role model. I appreciate all my groupmates and professors who made these two years a very interesting, educative and most of all a pleasant experience. In particular, I want to thank our Program Director, Per Jansson, for his enormous contribution to our learning process. Without his help, my university internship would not be that successful. My gratitude also goes to the team of EU’s OPEN Neighbourhood programme for providing me with internship opportunity during the third semester. Finally, I would like to thank the Swedish Institute for this opportunity of studying in Sweden with full scholarship. This country and people here will always be in my heart. Dedication I dedicate this work to my doctor mother, Sevinj Zeynalova, who is the reason of my all successes. She passed away from COVID-19, while I was in Sweden. I will always do my best to make her proud. May her soul rest in peace. i This publication is part of my research work at Linköping University, funded by a Swedish Institute scholarship. ii Glossary CDI Commitment to Development Index COVAX COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access COVID-19 Coronavirus disease DAC Development Assistance Committee Danida Denmark’s development cooperation DKK Danish Krone (currency) EaP Eastern Partnership EBA Expert Group for Aid Studies EU European Union FBA Folke Bernadotte Academy FDI Foreign Direct Investment GDP Gross domestic product GEF Global Environment Facility GNI Gross National Income GNP Gross National Product IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IDB Inter-American Development Bank IFU Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries IR International Relations IMF International Monetary Fund MDG Millennium Development Goal MENA Middle East and North Africa MFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs iii MOPAN Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NGO Non-Governmental Organization NICFI Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative Norad Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation Norec Norwegian Agency for Exchange Cooperation Norfund Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries ODA Official Development Assistance OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development PBR Payment By Results PES Projects Export Secretariat SDG Sustainable Development Goal Sida Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SRHR Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Swedfund Swedish Development Finance Institution UK United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland UN United Nations US(A) United States of America WTO World Trade Organization WWII World War II iv Abstract This paper examines the development cooperation policies of the Scandinavian countries, namely Denmark, Norway and Sweden. It aims to provide a more detailed understanding of the similarities and differences between the three countries in conducting development cooperation. The term of development cooperation is almost synonymous with aid programs or more specifically with Official Development Assistance / ODA while also being a broader concept covering many support mechanisms. Thus, a central concern in this study is to investigate the aid volume, focus areas, geographic allocations, institutional structure and objectives of the Scandinavian countries as well as explore the policy reasons from theoretical perspectives and models. The research is conducted according to John Mill's method of difference as the researched countries are highly similar in development level and aid provision. Possible theories of the thesis are neorealism and sociological institutionalism which are proven effective in analyzing the foreign policies and understanding state behaviors in International Relations. The political culture and models of foreign policy analysis branch are also involved for providing a broader scope. The research results show that although these three countries are very similar in many aspects, they have also some differences in their policy objectives and strategies. The reasons are various, be it power aspirations, cultural differences or simply the values. Key words: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, development cooperation, policy. Word count: 23644* * Excluding Acknowledgements, Dedication, Glossary, Abstract, Contents, List of Tables and References v Abstrakt Bu tədqiqat işi, Skandinaviya ölkələri olan Danimarka, Norveç və İsveçin inkişaf naminə əməkdaşlıq siyasətləri haqqındadır. Tezis, inkişaf naminə əməkdaşlıq sahəsində bu ölkələr arasındakı oxşar və fərqli cəhətlərin ətraflı araşdırılaraq, daha yaxşı anlaşılmasını hədəfləyir. Bir çox dəstək mexanizmini özündə ehtiva edən “İnkişaf naminə əməkdaşlıq” konsepsiyası, termin olaraq, yardım proqramları, daha dəqiq ifadə etsək, İnkişaf üçün Rəsmi Yardım / ODA ilə oxşar mənaları ifadə edir. Tezisin əsas məğzi, Skandinaviya ölkələri tərəfindən ayrılan yardımların həcmini, maraq dairələrini, coğrafi təyinatlarını, institusional quruluş və hədəflərini araşdırmaq, həmçinin, bu yardımların siyasi səbəblərini nəzəri baxımdan və modellər nöqteyi-nəzərindən tədqiq etməkdir. Tədqiq olunan ölkələrin yardım ayırma və inkişaf səviyyələri arasındakı bənzərliklər nəzərə alınmaqla, Con Millin “Fərqlilik metodu”ndan istifadə edilmişdir. Tezisdə neorealizm və sosioloji institusionalizm nəzəriyyələrindən istifadə olunmuşdur. Bu nəzəriyyələrin, xarici siyasətin təhlilində, həmçinin, beynəlxalq münasibətlərdə dövlət addımlarının anlaşılmasında mühüm əhəmiyyətə malik olduğu təsdiqlənmişdir. Bundan başqa, geniş mövqeni təmin etmək məqsədilə, siyasi mədəniyyət və xarici siyasətin təhlili sahəsi modellərindən də istifadə olunmuşdur. Tədqiqatın nəticələri göstərir ki, bu üç ölkə bir çox cəhətdən oxşar olsalar da, siyasi məqsədlər və strategiyalar baxımından xeyli fərqli cəhətlərə malikdirlər. Bunun səbəbləri isə müxtəlifdir, bəzən güc istəkləri, mədəniyyətdən gələn fərqlər və yaxud sadəcə dəyər prinsiplərinin müxtəlifliyi əhəmiyyətli rol oynayır. Açar sözlər: Danimarka, Norveç, İsveç, inkişaf naminə əməkdaşlıq, siyasət. vi Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... i Dedication ........................................................................................................................................ i Glossary ......................................................................................................................................... iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ v List of tables .................................................................................................................................... x 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Research aim ..................................................................................................................... 2 1.2. Research questions ............................................................................................................ 3 1.3. Theoretical framework ...................................................................................................... 3 1.3.1. Neorealism ................................................................................................................. 4 1.3.2. Sociological institutionalism ..................................................................................... 7 1.3.3. Foreign policy analysis ............................................................................................ 11 1.4. Compatibility of the theoretical and analytical choices .................................................. 13 1.5. Methods, methodology and materials ............................................................................. 15 1.5.1. Method of difference ............................................................................................... 15 1.5.2. Secondary methods .................................................................................................. 16 1.6. Structure .......................................................................................................................... 17 1.7. Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 19 2. Introduction to the cases ......................................................................................................... 20 2.1. Denmark .........................................................................................................................