PhD researchers Guido Maschhaupt, Ahmed el Assal and Petronilla Wandeto have published an article in Development Policy Review, in which they argue that the aggressive promotion of cash transfer programmes by international donors can have the unintended effect of entrenching autocratic regimes.
They find that cash transfer programmes can be used by ruling regimes to legitimize themselves, to co-opt opposition groups or to compensate for other unpopular reforms. As such, their long-term developmental impact can be jeopardized.
Specific donor-influencing strategies can have the unintended effect of reinforcing regime entrenchment when they participate in clientelist logic, use financial leverage and exclude civil society from the policy process.
Read the article online - 'Can ODA enable autocratic entrenchment? Investigating donor-driven cash transfer programmes in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Egypt' Development Policy Review, 13 May 2025.
The authors are all part of the ADAPTED training framework
- PhD student
- PhD student
- PhD student
