Points of departure for shaping Hungary's international development policy – An approach from the perspective of multilateral development policy

Abstract

It is a welcome fact that international development co-operation policy is no longer looked upon as being exclusively a government task in Hungary. Studies of high standard even in international comparison are now published which aim at completeness and throw a light on the problems associated with our (re)emerging donor status. Civil organisations and scientific circles alike identify themselves more and more with this topic. This essay is therefore not trying to present basic ideas, rather, it •intends to draw attention to the direct precedents of economic history and economics which even today determine international development policy; •highlights the most characteristic current international trends of the subject area; •wishes to present the problems confronting international development policy in Hungary, and where possible, attempts to offer possible answers based on international empirical evidence. This paper provides an overview of the current Hungarian implications of global and European development policy in the light of its most recent features and trends. When examining the interim fulfilment of international ODA (Official Development Aid) commitments, the perspectives (the chance of implementing the objectives) and the challenges (the tasks to be done for implementation) can be identified and they may serve as guidelines at global, regional and local level.