The Politics of Coordination in Japanese Foreign Aid: Liberalism, Authoritarianism, and Realism.

The linkage of developmental aid to the promotion of democratic governance in recipient countries has stimulated both policy and scholarly interest. Many aid donors (e.g., governments and multilateral organizations) have been replacing the conventional single task aid concentrating on growth promotion with this type of multitask aid. The linkage between growth and democracy is not only integral part of the liberal discourse that provides a cognitive foundation for foreign aid, but also an instrument to enhance the efficiency and political palatability of foreign aid in the early twentieth-first century. The current paper examines multitask aid in both normative and empirical terms. Normatively, it outlines three distinct conceptual perspectives on the relationship growth and politics--liberalism, authoritarianism and realism. Empirically, it analyzes the conduct of Japanese aid that directs toward mostly illiberal Asian states and is criticized for focusing excessively on growth with a limited attention to democracy. Finally, it deduces the Japanese government's beliefs from its aid practices and illuminates reasons why Japan often deviates from the international liberal norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]