Development Cooperation in a Fractured Global Order: An Arduous Transition

The turbulence the world is experiencing approaching the 21st century is not just because of the end of the Cold War, the end of a Golden Age, or the beginning of the Information Revolution. Fundamentally, it signals the end of the Baconian Age, which began almost 400 years ago when Sir Francis Bacon set out his concepts of progress and development, concepts that have shaped human endeavours ever since.

What does the end of the Baconian Age mean to the future of development cooperation? What does it mean for the lives of the world's poor and hungry? This book traces the evolution of development cooperation to its impending doom, examines the main trends and changes in the international environment, and explores the future of international development assistance. It will surely stimulate discussion and debate amongst policymakers, academics, practitioners, and students of development worldwide.

The authors

Francisco Sagasti is the director of the AGENDA: Peru program at FORO Nacional/Internacional, an institution created to promote democratic governance and to foster dialogue and consensus on critical development issues. In addition to various academic, private sector, and government advisory positions in Peru and other countries, he has been Chief of Strategic Planning and senior advisor at the World Bank; visiting professor at the Wharton School of Finance, University of Pennsylvania; and chairman of the UN Advisory Committee on Science and Technology for Development.

Gonzalo Alcalde is research associate at FORO Nacional/Internacional and has been involved in the AGENDA: Peru program of activities since 1995. He has also been assistant analyst at Peru's Ministry of Economics and Finance.