Taking back control of foreign aid? National interest and the conservative reframings of UK development policy

Abstract

The paper explores the national interest turn in the rhetoric associated with UK foreign aid policy under Conservative governments between 2016 and 2024. The ‘national interest’ has figured prominently in the literature on donor motivations for aid, which has shown how different interpretations of the concept may co-exist, and undermine each other through their impacts on aid allocation and effectiveness. The paper identifies three framings of the national interest put forward by Conservative governments: An ‘enlightened’ narrative relatively aligned with global poverty reduction; one focused on enhancing British leadership and influence by ‘taking back control’; and the final narrative emphasising trade, investments, and UK job creation. The three narratives represent policy progression between successive Conservative governments, who were constantly faced with the need to adapt their messaging on aid to changing political circumstances. However, this constant reframing of the national interest around foreign aid led to significant ambiguity. Furthermore, the latter two narratives and their implementation (such as the merger between the Foreign Office and DFID) carried a number of inconsistencies, partially undermining the national interest which they claimed to serve.