Andres penger
In: Internasjonal politikk, Band 63, Heft 5, S. 567-581
ISSN: 0020-577X
This article takes an in-depth look at the controversy surrounding initiatives to eliminate poverty in developing countries. While analysis of the problem necessarily assumes an international perspective, special attention is given here to the role that Norway -- as a European country made wealthy by its natural resources -- is to play in the effort to advance underdeveloped regions. A review of existing critical literature reveals a commonly held view that the most detrimental problems arise because of the inability to control what happens to aide money given to impoverished nations that are often run by corrupt power groups that use the money to consolidate their own power. As much research has demonstrated, world contributions to developing areas over the past decades have failed to produce the expected results, which again signals that the dilemma of under-developed areas is rooted in their internal organization & collective incentives. Several perspectives on this issue are reviewed here to pronounce the moral question assumed by many where Norway is concerned, namely if a country made wealthy by something that it has not "earned" per se should continue to support an aide mechanism that is shown by many analyses to be unsustainable. The stakes & alternatives in this debate are discussed here in detail. C Brunski