Paper short abstract:

The emerging powers cooperation approach departs from a mutual beneficial partnership without conditions and interference...at least in discourse. This article examines the agency and decision making power of Mozambique and Malawi in nine flagship projects of Brazil, India and the PR China.

Paper long abstract:

The (re-)entry of the emerging powers as development cooperation providers is said to have raised the bargaining power and agency of African governments. Besides the influx of extra sources of income, this might be explained by the particular South-South Cooperation approach which is framed within a horizontal and mutual beneficial relationship or partnership among equals, which renounces imposing conditions and interfering in national policies.

This paper examines how and to what extent this equal partnership is put into practice in nine flagship state-to-state development projects of China, Brazil and India with Malawi and Mozambique in agriculture and health. Case studies include amongst other agricultural demonstration and malaria control centre (China), a pharmaceutical factory and school feeding programs (Brazil) and the Pan-African e-Network and cotton assistance (India). The study deconstructs the agency and decision making power of the different actors involved (incl. different governmental levels) from the African partner countries, the Southern providers and - where relevant - other countries in three phases of the project cycle: agenda setting, design, implementation.

Based on four years research and over 200 interviews, the paper develops a typology of five different ways - ranging from African partner's being in the driver's seat to blueprint approaches with limited consultation - and a number of conducive and limiting contextual factors which determine the extent to which the principle is put into practice.

The paper draws from these insights conclusions regarding the effectiveness of the cooperation approaches.