The growing number of development stakeholders and initiatives in developing countries have added complexity to the social field of international development cooperation (IDC). Countries that have historically been recipients of development cooperation have been witnessing an increasingly presence of emerging countries, such as the BRICS countries, offering South-South Cooperation (SSC) as an alternative model for development.
The arrival of new agents with their alternative practices increased the bargaining power of recipient countries, strengthening their capacity to negotiate the terms and drive the implementation of development programmes. Furthermore, with its claims of mutual benefit and horizontality of cooperation relations, SSC adds emphasis to aid effectiveness principles enshrined in the Paris Declaration that guides the traditional IDC field, not least country ownership and mutual accountability. Yet, large SSC providers, such as Brazil or China, have refused to align with this aid effectiveness agenda. Combining the Bourdieusian notion of social field with IR perspectives on the changing aid geopolitics, this seminar will discuss the impact of SSC in the established principles and practices of the IDC field, globally and locally.
About the speakers
During the last 20 years Paulo Esteves has combined academic and policy oriented work in the fields of International politics, particularly international security and international development. Since 2010 his research has focused on international development, particularly south-south cooperation, emerging powers and, more recently, the politics of climate change.
Besides the academic research, his work includes the coordination of policy dialogues, policy-oriented research and analysis, and the evaluation of development programs. Paulo Esteves has 10 years of experience in academic management; 20 years of experience in Higher Education; 3 years of experience in International Development Management. He served as a UNDP and ECOSOC Consultant and was a research fellow at Rice University (2000), Copenhagen University (2008) and Brown University (2007).
Currently, Paulo is an associate professor at the Institute of International Relations (PUC-Rio) and the Director of the BRICS Policy Center. Paulo was a founding member of the Brazilian International Studies Association and its president from 2011 to 2015. Paulo holds a PhD in Political Science, MA in Political Science and a BA in History.
Geovana Zoccal is a PhD Candidate at the International Relations Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) and has a Masters in International Relations from the same institute. Geovana also holds a BA in International Relations from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (PUC-Minas).
Geovana is currently based in UK as a visiting fellow to the Institute of Development Studies (University of Sussex). Geovana was a professor of the discipline of International Cooperation for Development Professional Practice, as part of the PhD programme. She also works as researcher of the International Cooperation for Development Research Group of the BRICS Policy Center. She was a researcher of the project “Brazilian South-South Cooperation and the BRICS: Changing Strategies in Africa”. Her main research topics are international cooperation for development, with emphasis on new alternatives presented by the Global South, as SouthSouth Cooperation or the New Multilateral Development Banks.
About the Centre for Rising Powers and Global Development (CRPD)
This event has been organised under the auspices of the Centre for Rising Powers and Global Development (CRPD). CRPD is at the forefront of research and practical analysis that helps connect governments, donors, civil society, and academia to explore new way to address global development challenges, with a particular focus on the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and other increasingly influential middle-income countries
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