ABSTRACT
Given the rise of populism across the globe, but particularly in the USA, and Europe, it is necessary to position foreign aid and international development within the constantly emerging political realities not only of donor countries but of recipients also. Although populism is a contested concept, and neither adhering to the ‘right’ or ‘left’ of politics necessarily, it can lead to an increasingly ‘inwards’ perspective of the donors’ countries. Rejecting a neoliberal globalisation agenda requires the acceptance of some degree of de-globalisation and retreat from unbridled economic neoliberalism to mercantilism and protectionism. It is argued that these changes, generally ascribed to populism, are neither inherently good nor evil, but are more focused on national self-interest of the donor country. Populism is, however, likely to result in precipitous changes in power relations between donor and recipient. Furthermore, these changes, it is argued, result in the need to accept a wide variety of potential theoretical frameworks within which PEA must operate, and a recognition of the political, economic, social and cultural idiosyncrasies of foreign aid.
