Europeanization of Foreign-Aid Policy in Central and East Europe: The Role of EU, External Incentives and Identification in Foreign-Aid Policy Adoption in Latvia and Slovenia 1998–2010

Abstract:

This article enters in dialogue with the findings of the ‘Europeanization East’ literature that the Central and Eastern European countries adjusted to the European Union (EU) policies due to the overwhelming effect of the EU pre-accession conditionality. It is examined here whether this conclusion also applies to the foreign-aid policy adoption in two candidate states: Slovenia and Latvia. Also, the post-accession performance is studied to draw conclusions about what factors can account for the continuation of the policy evolution from 2004 to 2010. It is argued here that EU conditionality was present also in the foreign-aid policy area, but it was vague and not the only factor that mattered. Moreover, it is claimed here that identification and social influence can explain why the countries adopted foreign-aid policy in the pre-accession period and why they continued the policy even after accession.