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Paper short abstract:

This paper examines narratives, goals, strategies and practices of development partners in the context of south-south cooperation regarding how they give and receive aid. The paper contributes to the debate on how best a weaker partner can get quality aid from strong development partners.

Paper long abstract:

Development cooperation landscape has significantly changed with emergence of new players, changing goals of aid and evolved aid modalities. Aid givers and recipients have had to adapt to realities of competition hence embracing new ways and rules of the game around aid giving and receiving. This paper critically examines narratives, goals, strategies and practices of development partners regarding how they give and receive aid in the context of south-south cooperation. This paper focuses on India and China as aid givers from ‘Global South’ conduct their business with Malawi, a developing country in Africa whose national budget depends on 40% of funds from donors to implement development projects. The paper engages Gift Reciprocity theory to understand interaction between India and China and Malawi. Based on a qualitative data collected during field visits carried out in three years (2020 and 2022), the paper argues that there are similarities and differences in the way China and India engages Malawi on development cooperation. The paper establishes that similar prominent features between India and China in their approach to development cooperation with Malawi include Commercial Development Cooperation/Diplomacy and provision of credit line. India and China perceive their interest in cooperating with another country in the global south as an act of brotherhood and friendship. From south-south cooperation perspective, the paper contributes to the debate on how best a weaker partner such as Malawi can get quality aid from dominant development partners such as India and China.