ABSTRACT
Donor-driven projects are intended to diffuse or scale up results beyond their direct context (Neumann-Silkow 2010; Terrapon-Pfaff et al. 2014). Donors link their activities to the broader goal of a sustainable energy system, although such a system and the transition to renewables are often only vaguely defined. Acknowledging the complexity of the political system is a prerequisite for understanding the challenges of an energy transition and donor-driven support for renewables. Classical development theory can be a starting point for investigating the relation between development activities and renewable energy development, but it falls short of elaborating on fundamental issues related to coordination and power. More than six decades of modern post-World War II development cooperation has become the focus of a vast body of literature about its purpose, its effectiveness and the best way to achieve its goals. This chapter presents major debates and shifting paradigms in development theory and summarizes the dispute about a grand, universal theory of development. It critically reflects on development cooperation thinking with a focus on two main aspects: the emergence of sustainable development as a leading paradigm, and structural change as the key target of development assistance.
