ABSTRACT
Foreign aid assistance or ODA does not occur in an economic, cultural or geopolitical vacuum. Donor states are in a myriad of complex inter-state and geopolitical relationships. The emerging powers have altered the trajectories and assumptions concerning the site and nature of geopolitics and the relationship between inter-state relations and foreign aid. Some emerging powers have an objective to be more involved in the mainstream aid organisations such as the OECD-DAC; some emerging powers resist this temptation. The strategic options (and justifications of these options and decisions) that emerging powers have depend on the geopolitical dynamics not only between donor and recipient but also between donors.
