Change and Continuity in the United Kingdom’s Foreign Aid Policies: National Interest-Oriented Aid

Yıl 2025, Sayı: 58, 167 - 182, 30.12.2025

Yahya Gülseven

https://doi.org/10.52642/susbed.1775487

Öz

The United Kingdom government, with its new foreign aid strategy announced in 2015, declared that its aid to poor countries would be restructured not only in line with poverty reduction and development goals but also in a way that serves the country’s national interests. The policy document titled “UK Aid: Tackling Global Challenges in the National Interest” is a clear indicator of this strategic transformation, emphasizing that foreign aid would be used not only for humanitarian development purposes but also to promote national security, economic interests, and global influence. This study questions to what extent this “new” foreign aid strategy reflects a genuine transformation by examining how the concept of “national interest” has been historically shaped and redefined over time in the discourse and practice of the UK’s foreign aid. In this framework, the study explores from a historical perspective how aid policies have been associated with national interests both at the level of implementation (funding priorities, geographic orientations, inter-institutional relations) and discourse (policy documents, official statements). The study revolves around the question of whether aid has been directed over time towards humanitarian development goals or towards strategies based on commercial, diplomatic, and security interests, and aims to provide a qualitative analysis to understand the role and transformation of foreign aid in the United Kingdom’s foreign policy. Moreover, by examining the United Kingdom’s national interest–oriented approach to foreign aid, the study aims to establish an analytical framework that contributes to the analysis of similar trends observed in the aid policies of other leading donor countries today.

Anahtar Kelimeler

United Kingdom , Foreign Aid , National Interest , Aid and Trade Provision

Birleşik Krallık Dış Yardım Politikalarında Değişim ve Süreklilik: Ulusal Çıkar Odaklı Yardım

Öz

Birleşik Krallık hükümeti, 2015 yılında açıkladığı yeni dış yardım stratejisiyle, yoksul ülkelere yönelik yardımlarını yalnızca yoksullukla mücadele ve kalkınma hedefleri doğrultusunda değil, aynı zamanda ülkenin ulusal çıkarlarına hizmet edecek şekilde yeniden yapılandırdığını ilan etmiştir. “Birleşik Krallık Yardımı: Küresel Zorluklarla Ulusal Çıkarlar Doğrultusunda Mücadele” başlıklı politika belgesi, bu stratejik dönüşümün açık bir göstergesi olarak, dış yardımın yalnızca insani kalkınma amacıyla değil, aynı zamanda ulusal güvenlik, ekonomik çıkarlar ve küresel etkinin artırılması doğrultusunda da kullanılacağını vurgulamaktadır. Bu çalışma, “ulusal çıkar” kavramının Birleşik Krallık’ın dış yardım söylem ve uygulamalarında tarihsel süreç içinde nasıl şekillendiğini ve zamanla nasıl yeniden tanımlandığını inceleyerek, bu “yeni” dış yardım stratejisinin ne ölçüde gerçek bir dönüşümü yansıttığını sorgulamaktadır. Bu çerçevede, yardım politikalarının hem uygulama düzeyinde (fonlama öncelikleri, coğrafi yönelimler, kurumlar arası ilişkiler) hem de söylem düzeyinde (politika belgeleri, resmi açıklamalar) ulusal çıkarlarla nasıl ilişkilendirildiği tarihsel bir perspektifle ele alınmaktadır. Bu çalışma, yardımın zaman içinde insani kalkınma hedeflerine mi yoksa ticari, diplomatik ve güvenlik temelli stratejilere mi yönlendirildiği sorusu etrafında şekillenmekte, dış yardımın Birleşik Krallık dış politikasındaki yerini ve geçirdiği dönüşümü anlamaya yönelik nitel bir analiz sunmayı amaçlamaktadır. Ayrıca, Birleşik Krallık’ın ulusal çıkar odaklı dış yardım anlayışını irdeleyerek, günümüzde diğer önde gelen donör ülkelerin yardım politikalarında gözlemlenen benzer eğilimlerin analizine katkı sunacak bir analitik çerçeve ortaya koymayı hedeflemektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Birleşik Krallık , Dış Yardım , Ulusal Çıkar , Yardım ve Ticaret Fonu

Kaynakça

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