Det nya svenska biståndet: kolonialism med andra medel? En kvalitativ innehållsanalys av tidöavtalets reformagenda och strategi för Sveriges utvecklingssamarbete med Zambia 2024-2028

Abstract

This study investigates the newly reformed Swedish development aid policy, focusing on its driving forces and what can be inferred regarding neocolonial perspectives. Specifically, it examines the primary Swedish document for development aid policy, known as the ”Reformagenda”, and the specific country strategy for Zambia. The changes in priorities and goals introduced by the ”Tidö agreement” are historical, particularly the abolition of the one-percent target which has defined the ambitious Swedish aid policy since its legislation in 1968. Western colonial history has shaped and influenced the practice of development aid, and scholars argue that it is a form of neocolonial tool to maintain economic and political control over postcolonial states. The study reveals that the driving forces behind the new Swedish aid policy can be perceived as self-serving and linked to a ”forgotten historical causal relationship” between modernity and colonialism, and between Europe and Africa. However, it is important to acknowledge the complexity in development aid and the limitations and shortcomings of this study, hence it should not be concluded that Sweden’s development aid is inherently selfish.