ABSTRACT
This article analyses financial contributions and political positioning at the UN in the area of development. The starting point of the chapter is the empirical observation that the emerging powers show an interest in repositioning themselves in the policy field of development. The chapter suggests that the countries have behaved rather reluctantly and are instead sticking to their traditional attitude as ‘ordinary’ developing countries. It explores possible explanations and discusses some implications for multilateral development cooperation and the UN. The chapter looks at the financial contributions; SSC at the UN; and global norms and standard setting on development policy. But financial contributions only tell one part of the story, and it is important therefore to examine whether and how the emerging powers promote SSC under UN auspices, and the extent to which they rely on the UN development system as a partner for transmitting their knowledge and expertise to other developing countries.
