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A Postcolonialist Analysis of the Development Cooperation between the

EU and the ACP Countries

Bohao Wang

M.A. in Political ScienceNational Taiwan University

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Outline of the presentation

I. Postcolonialism

II. Cotonou Agreement

III. Institutions and Process of Decision-making

IV. A Postcolonialist Analysis

V. Conclusion

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I. Postcolonialism

A. Said

(A) representation (B) dichotomy

B. Spivak

(A) the subaltern (B) reflexivity

Is the EU aware of its own cultural lens when promoting values through its development policies?

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II. Cotonou Agreement

A. Changes

(A) Changes in trade relations

(B) Inclusion of the civil society in decision-making process

B. Continuities

(A) Basic needs (B) Structural adjustments

(C) Good governance (D) Human rights

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III. Institutions and Process of Decision-making

A. Council of Ministers

B. European Parliament

(A) monitoring (B) Co-decisioning

C. European Commission

D. European External Action Services, EEAS

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IV. A Postcolonialist Analysis

A. Development policies becoming more foreign policies oriented after the Treaty of Lisbon.

B. Cultural implication of the guiding principles

(A) basic needs

1. fictional, hierarchical

2. justificaion of the intervention of the expert

3. ignorance of inequality

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IV. A Postcolonialist Analysis

(B) structural adjustments

1. cultural weights and discursive authority of economics

2. neo-colonialism and bio-politics

(C) good governance

1. western donors as judges, deciding what’s good and bad.

2. corruption/ anti-corruption

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IV. A Postcolonialist Analysis

(D) human rights

1. universalism vs. cultural relativism

2. both are problematic

-cultural relativism: dichotomous, essentialist,

-universalism: promotion of universal rights? essentialist

3. universality as a goal not a priori fact

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V. Conclusion

Ignorance of the cultural lens

Pretense to neutrality and objectivity

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Reflexivity

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Thank you for your attention!

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