University of Plymouth PEARL https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk 04 University of Plymouth Research Theses 01 Research Theses Main Collection 2019 Europeanization of Foreign Aid: Managing Post-9/11 Fragile, Conflict-Affected States Flint, James Frank http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/15188 University of Plymouth All content in PEARL is protected by copyright law. Author manuscripts are made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the details provided on the item record or document. In the absence of an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher or author. This copy of the thesis has been supplied on the condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the author’s prior consent. EUROPEANIZATION OF FOREIGN AID: MANAGING POST-9/11 FRAGILE, CONFLICT-AFFECTED STATES by JAMES FRANK FLINT A thesis submitted to the University of Plymouth in partial fulfilment for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Law, Criminology and Government 1st April 2019 AUTHOR’S DECLARATION At no time during the registration for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy has the author been registered for any other University award without prior agreement of the Doctoral College Quality Sub-Committee. Work submitted for this research degree at the University of Plymouth has not formed part of any other degree either at the University of Plymouth or at another establishment. This study was financed with the aid of a scholarship awarded by the University of Plymouth’s Graduate School of Management, and a ‘Founders Fund Grant’ awarded by the British International Studies Association. A programme of advanced study was undertaken, which included the achievement of a Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methodology with Distinction. The following external institutions were visited for consultation and interview purposes: London Whitehall departments, think-tanks and third-sector organisations including (but not limited to) agencies of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence, Department of International Development, the Stabilisation Unit, the Royal United Services Institute, and the Palace of Westminster. Brussels European Quarter institutions, think-tanks and third-sector organisations including (but not limited to) agencies of the European Commission, the European External Action Service, the European Union Institute for Security Studies, and the Royal Institute for International Relations. Publications during the course of study: (2019) ‘Reflections on Researching Afghanistan’, The Open Review, Issue. 5, pp. 22-25 (2017) ‘Brexit and the Integrated Approach to Stabilisation – Building Stability Overseas’, The iSPER Brexit Series, No. 6, pp. 1-7 (2014) ‘Afghanistan’s 2014 Presidential Election: Assisting Democratisation’, Ethnopolitics Papers, No. 28, pp. 1-44 i Presentations at conferences (non-exhaustive): British International Studies Association Annual Conference (2019) British Army Defence Engagement Conference, Wyvern Barracks (2017) School of African and Oriental Studies Communication and Conflict Conference (2016) British International Studies Association Annual Conference (2015) University of Plymouth Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Conference (2014) University of Plymouth Graduate School of Management International Symposium(s) University of Plymouth Politics and International Studies Seminar Series Word count of the main body of the thesis: 85,696 Signed:……………………… Date:…01/04/2019………….. ii EUROPEANIZATION OF FOREIGN AID: MANAGING POST-9/11 FRAGILE, CONFLICT-AFFECTED STATES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The underlying rationale for undertaking this research is found in prior experience working in a fragile, conflict-affected state (Afghanistan) during the post-9/11 period (2008-2009). This experience led to a desire to undertake further critical exploration to reveal deeper understanding. The thesis would not have been feasible without the invaluable guidance and encouragement from my Director of Studies, Prof Kerry E. Howell, and my Supervisor, Dr Patrick Holden. Further, I wish to convey my sincere appreciation to my external examiner, Dr Simon Lightfoot, and my internal examiner, Prof Alison Anderson, for their time and consideration. I must also thank the many willing interviewees (and those many others who pointed me in the right direction and lent insight) who graciously contributed to the research, and whose acumens have been instrumental in its progression. Unfortunately, in accordance with ethical considerations many of those interviewed must remain anonymous. But, I am delighted to have permission to thank by name (in no particular order): Lord Paddy Ashdown; Lord Jonny Oates; Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles; Andrew Mitchell MP; Major General (Rtd) Jerry Thomas RM; Sir Guy Willoughby; WO1 (Rtd) Stephen Moran RM; Baroness Lynda Chalker; Mark Bryson-Richardson; Sandrine Tiller; Francesc Vendrall; Matthew Willner-Reid; Michel De-Knoop; Prof Sven Biscop; Dr Roderick Parkes, and Phillipe Rabaud. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Nicola, for her constant support, throughout both my studies and my brain cancer diagnosis (a brain tumour named Kenneth). iii EUROPEANIZATION OF FOREIGN AID: MANAGING POST-9/11 FRAGILE, CONFLICT-AFFECTED STATES by JAMES FRANK FLINT ABSTRACT Since the turn of the millennium fragile, conflict-affected states (FCAS) have grown to constitute a significant issue within European discourse. The spill-over of their ‘complex political emergencies’ is destabilising, as epitomised by the 9/11 attacks. Bush’s ‘war on terrorism’ speech-act during 9/11’s aftermath signified a juncture, and new historical epoch within International Relations. Within this epoch the EU was confronted by violent extremism/terrorism and irregular-migration flows. Nonetheless, fragile states risked being ‘aid orphans’. They can be unattractive to aid-donors due to the foreign aid dilemma whereby those states and peoples exhibiting the direst need of assistance are frequently the hardest to assist through the complexity of their needs and threats. This thesis takes a critical interest in UK government and EU-level institutional thought pertaining to aid challenges in fragile states. It focusses specifically upon the empirical case of Afghanistan (which was the facilitator of 9/11, and whose ‘complex political emergency’ spanned the epoch). Research is conducted from a critical-interpretivist perspective, qualitatively tracing aid ideas through institutional frame analysis (IFA), with interest in how some ideas came to be prevalent within European discourse while others did not. This entails expanding upon the genesis of ideas, their promulgation, diffusion and salience amidst frame-contestation within interactive discursive-struggle, and their subsequent adoption and adaptation (or resistance thereto). In doing so, the thesis reveals changes within institutional framing of problems and solutions, institutional path-dependency and associated cultural values. Ultimately, the thesis reveals substantive processes of Europeanization concerning transformational soft-content between the UK and EU-level, including notably how UK leadership ambitions ‘uploaded’ pragmatic facets of whole-of-government and stabilisation thinking. iv THESIS CONTENTS FIGURES AND TABLES ................................................................................................ viii ACRONYMS ...................................................................................................................... ix 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 Statement of the problem ................................................................................................... 2 Research justification and contribution .............................................................................. 4 Approaching and delimiting the research ........................................................................... 6 Central thesis..................................................................................................................... 8 Structuring the thesis ......................................................................................................... 9 2 Review: Foreign Aid and Fragility ............................................................................ 14 Foreign aid within International Relations ....................................................................... 15 The security-development nexus and fragility.................................................................. 19 Aiding fragile states ........................................................................................................ 25 The Europeanization of foreign aid, and fragile states...................................................... 31 Chapter conclusion .......................................................................................................... 37 3 Theoretical—Conceptual Framework....................................................................... 40 Conceptualising holistic foreign aid ................................................................................. 41 Theoretical dimensions of frame analysis within discourse analysis ................................. 45 Institutional framing