Religion and British International Development Policy

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

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2. Introduction, Research Design and Context Setting

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Introduction

      • Aikande Clement Kwayu

      Pages 3-45

   3. Faith and Development: A Manifestation of Resurgence of Religion in International Relations

      • Aikande Clement Kwayu

      Pages 47-95

   4. The UK’s International Development Policies from the End of the Cold War to the Present

      • Aikande Clement Kwayu

      Pages 97-152

3. Analysis of Religion at the Government Policy Making Level

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 153-153

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   2. Faith-Based Organisations in the UK’s International Development Policy

      • Aikande Clement Kwayu

      Pages 155-218

   3. Faith Communities in the UK’s International Development Policies

      • Aikande Clement Kwayu

      Pages 219-267

   4. Brexit and UK International Development Policy: Implications for the Relationship Between the Government and Faith Groups

      • Aikande Clement Kwayu

      Pages 269-303

   5. Conclusion

      • Aikande Clement Kwayu

      Pages 305-324

4. Back Matter

   Pages 325-329

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This book studies the relationship between British government and faith groups in its international development agenda within and beyond the context of Brexit. It includes aspects of International Relations, International Development, and Religion and Politics to trace the relationship between the British government and faith groups, showing that the relationship is enhanced on three conditions: (i) the resurgence of religion in international affairs; (ii) the attitudes of politicians and political parties towards the third sector (i.e. voluntary and private sectors); and (iii) the rising prominence of the international development agenda in British politics. The third condition triggers the need to understand this relationship in the wake of Brexit. Thus, the book aims to analyze to what extent the increasing prominence of an international development agenda in British politics explains the relationship between the government and faith groups, and ultimately whether Brexit has increased the prominence of international development agenda and brought faith groups into closer relations with the government.

• British International Development Policy
• Religion and Development
• Faith-Based Organizations
• Historical Institutionalism
• Brexit and Religion
• Labour International Development
• Conservative International Development
• Liberal Democrat International Development
• Christian Mission Society
• Christian Aid
• UK Aid
• International Relations
• Development Policy
• Faith Communities
• Religion and International Relations
• Faith and Development

‘Faith and religious identity are profoundly involved in development – “the freedoms to be and to do”, in the words of Amartya Sen. Many of those making change happen around the world are motivated and sustained by their faiths. In contrast, aid – the project that seeks to trigger development – is often highly secular, operating in the realm of evidence, randomized controlled trials and logical frameworks. Dr. Aikande C. Kwayu explores this paradox in the case of the UK’s aid programme, held up as a model by many other aid donors around the world. This book is invaluable in seeking to bridge the gap and fill the “faith-based hole” in contemporary discussions of aid and development’.

—Duncan Green, Senior Strategic Adviser, Oxfam, GB

 

‘Dr. Aikande Kwayu tackles one of the emerging features of international affairs: the growing trend of secular governments working with religious institutions in shaping international development polices. This study opens a window into the way the UK government has developed policies and shaped their politics in a way which make possible partnerships with faith institutions. The book is a valuable resource not only for students of international politics but also a compelling case for strengthening partnerships between public and faith based institutions’.

—Wilfred Mlay, former Vice-President of World Vision International, Africa Region

 

‘An impressive piece of scholarship, Religion and British International Development Policy makes a significant contribution to several fields, including political science, international relations, and public policy. Dr. Aikande C. Kwayu presents us with a meticulously researched account of the changing logics of British faith-based development policy and the mobilization of religion within successive government regimes. I know of no other analysis of religion and development politics that is more clearly argued and insightful than this eagerly awaited work’.

—Amy Stambach, Director of Global Studies and Professor of Educational Policy Studies and Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, and author of Faith in Schools (2019)

 

‘This is an excellent book that reconnects religion within the discipline of international relations and especially the public funding of faith-based organizations and faith communities operating overseas. We are in an era where national security and the rise of terrorism using religion is threatening our very fabric of society and security. Thus, highlighting the importance of British soft power (in the era of Brexit and post) in this book in the faith-based arena is an essential conversation and debate that needs to take place from the policy-making perspective’.

—Heba F. El-Shazli, Assistant Professor of Political Science at George Mason University, USA

• Development Research and Consultancy, Bumaco Limited, Moshi, Tanzania

  Aikande Clement Kwayu

Dr. Aikande C. Kwayu is a development policy researcher at Bumaco Limited, and an honorary research fellow in the Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. She has a PhD in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham, UK, and her research interests include Religion and International Politics.

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