Actors, Ideas and Rules in New Zealand Official Development Assistance Policy Change

Abstract

This thesis is an in-depth study of two cases of significant Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) policy change in New Zealand. It focuses on the roles of actors, ideas and rules in ODA policy change. To date there has been little in-depth study of ODA policy change. Yet civil society, multilateral and private sector entities expend considerable resources attempting to influence ODA policy – either to promote change or to defend the status quo. In the academic work that does exist, scholars have primarily explored the domestic factors influencing the amount of ODA given, where it is given, and the reasons why donors provide ODA. The case studies that have been conducted highlight the roles of interest groups, rules and the professional executive in policymaking. To contribute to learning about ODA policymaking, I focused on exploring policy goal changes. I created an analytical framework drawing on the broader literature of policy studies. Specifically, I drew from policy change theorists’ insights about change and used this framework to explore and analyse two cases of ODA policy goal change in New Zealand. My findings show that key to New Zealand ODA policy goal change are actors behaving entrepreneurially, connected to an ideas-based network that cuts across societal interest groups and government. Ideas are an important motivating force for actors. These include ideas about the national interest, the relationship between development cooperation and other foreign policy outcomes, and power and control within government agencies. Unlike many policy change theorists, I explicitly examine formal rules, highlighting specific important rules, and how rules form the context within which actors act, including to avoid ambiguous rules. These findings are useful for actors wishing to influence ODA policy goals, for scholars who want to examine ODA policy change elsewhere, and for policy change thinkers.