Swedish aid reform

The plan wants to increase aid and establishes that aid shall be given without selfish reservations, and that international cooperation shall be developed towards increased openness and more active participation by elected parliaments. The plan also safeguards strong and independent popular movements. The objection to lack of transparency and grounding when aid focus is shifted therefore follows from the plan. The plan also speaks to the committee's reasons about the form of decision.

• openness and parliamentary participationdecisive»ska utvecklas i riktning mot ökad öppenhet« (party programme ↗)“shall be developed in the direction of increased openness”
• increased aid»Sverige ska öka biståndet, stärka FN och skriva under kärnvapenkonventionen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden should increase aid, strengthen the UN and sign the nuclear weapons convention.”
• aid without selfish reservations»Internationellt bistånd ska ges till fattiga länder utan egennyttiga« (party programme ↗)“International aid shall be given to poor countries without selfish”
• civil society's role»starka och självständiga folkrörelser som kan bidra till progressiva« (party programme ↗)“strong and independent popular movements that can contribute to progressive”

The plan requires that the democratic process is based on transparency and openness and that policy is shaped in living dialogue with civil society, while aid has a clear own goal and a one-per-cent level. A reorganization of aid's direction without transparency, grounding and consequence analysis conflicts with these commitments, which is why the plan supports the counter-proposal's objection. The plan does not take a position on the form of the government's decision as such.

• transparency and opennessdecisive»Den demokratiska processen och samhällsförvaltningen måste bygga på offentlighet och« (party programme ↗)“The democratic process and public administration must be based on transparency and”
• grounding in civil society»formas i en levande dialog med det civila samhälle« (party programme ↗)“is formed in a living dialogue with civil society”
• one-per-cent goal for aid»Det svenska biståndet ska motsvara minst en procent av bruttonationalinkomsten.« (party programme ↗)“Swedish aid shall correspond to at least one per cent of gross national income.”
• clear direction for aid»Svenskt bistånd ska tydligare bidra till att förhindra att människor tvingas på flykt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Swedish aid shall more clearly contribute to preventing people from being forced to flee.”

The plan requires that aid is directed by efficiency and poverty reduction and not conditioned on domestic political interests, that development cooperation is characterized by respect and receptiveness to recipient countries' needs and that policy is coherent. A rapid shift in aid's direction without impact analysis and without consultation with civil society and other stakeholders risks precisely these goals. The objection about lack of transparency and consultation is therefore supported in substance.

• aid directed by poverty reductiondecisive»att mer än 1 procent av Sveriges bruttonationalinkomst fortsatt ska gå till bistånd, att biståndet ska styras av principer om effektivitet och fattigdomsbekämpning och inte villkoras mot Sveriges inrikespolitiska intressen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“that more than 1 percent of Sweden's gross national income continues to go to aid, that aid should be directed by principles of efficiency and poverty reduction and not conditioned on Sweden's domestic political interests.”
• receptiveness to recipient countries»präglas av respekt och lyhördhet för mottagarländernas behov« (party programme ↗)“characterized by respect and receptiveness to recipient countries' needs”
• support through civil society organizations»och hållbar utveckling bör ges stöd genom svenskt« (party programme ↗)“and sustainable development should be supported through Swedish”
• coherent development policy»Sveriges utvecklingspolitik ska vara samstämmig.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden's development policy should be coherent.”

The plan requires increased transparency and establishes that openness is a fundamental prerequisite for democracy and to prevent abuse of power, which bears the objection against lack of transparency when aid direction is changed. The plan moreover wants to protect the opposition's position in the Riksdag and sees civil society's independent role as central, which supports the demand for anchoring among elected representatives and affected parties. The plan thus supports the counter-proposal's demands in substance.

• increased transparencydecisive»Sverige ska bli ännu mer transparent.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall become even more transparent.”
• protected opposition in the Riksdag»Vi vill göra det svårare att ändra grundlagen, skydda oppositionens ställning i riksdagen och stärka domstolarnas oberoende.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to make it harder to change the constitution, protect the position of the opposition in the Riksdag and strengthen the independence of the courts.”
• openness as democracy requirement»Öppenhet och transparens är grundförutsättningar för frihet, demokrati och för att förhindra korruption och övergrepp.« (party programme ↗)“Openness and transparency are fundamental prerequisites for freedom, democracy and to prevent corruption and abuse.”
• civil society's independence»Det civila samhället måste ha en självständig roll« (party programme ↗)“Civil society must have an independent role”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan wants in substance to reform aid, but simultaneously points out lack of openness as a serious problem with Swedish aid money and requires that public authorities seek dialogue with civil society actors. Openness and transparency are according to the plan a prerequisite for scrutiny and debate. The demand for transparency and anchoring when direction is changed thus lies in the plan's direction, although the plan affirms the reform as such.

• openness in aiddecisive»Samtidigt finns i dag allvarliga problem med bristande öppenhet och korruption med svenska biståndspengar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“At the same time, there are today serious problems with lack of openness and corruption with Swedish aid money.”
• dialogue with civil society»Den offentliga makten ska söka dialog med civilsamhällets aktörer« (party programme ↗)“Public authorities shall seek dialogue with civil society actors”
• transparency as democratic foundation»Offentlighetsprincipen har en grundläggande betydelse för att förankra och fördjupa folkstyret,« (party programme ↗)“The principle of public access has fundamental importance for anchoring and deepening popular government,”
• reformed aid»Den svenska biståndspolitiken måste genomgå stora reformer med fokus på demokrati, jämställdhet och minskad korruption.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Swedish aid policy must undergo major reforms with a focus on democracy, equality, and reduced corruption.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan requires clear instruments for management, coordination and monitoring of aid as well as independent evaluations, which speaks for that a reorientation of direction is anchored and consequence-analysed instead of happening quickly and without oversight. Voluntary organizations' resources shall according to the plan be utilized in aid, which supports the requirement for anchoring in civil society. The aid level shall also remain stable over the business cycle.

• clear management of aiddecisive»Det måste finnas tydliga instrument för styrning,« (party programme ↗)“There must be clear instruments for management,”
• independent evaluation»utvärderingar av biståndet ska ske.« (party programme ↗)“evaluations of aid shall occur.”
• civil society in aid»Internationella- och frivilligorganisationers resurser och« (party programme ↗)“International and voluntary organizations' resources and”
• stable aid level»Sverige bör ge minst en procent av BNI i internationellt bistånd.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden should give at least one percent of GNI in international aid.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan requires that aid be fundamentally reformed, that the one per cent target be abolished and that Swedish interests and results to a greater degree direct the choice of interventions. The counter-proposal's demand for broader anchoring and consequence analysis before the direction is changed would slow precisely the reform the plan wants to implement. The plan therefore speaks against the demand, even though it does not express itself about decision-making procedures.

• reform aid fundamentallydecisive»Moderaterna vill reformera biståndet och göra det mer fokuserat på de länder och insatser där Sverige kan göra mest nytta.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Moderates want to reform aid and make it more focused on the countries and interventions where Sweden can do the most good.”
• new governance of aid»Avskaffa enprocentmålet och ersätta det med en fyraårig budgetram för biståndet som skapar förutsägbarhet och resultatfokus« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Abolish the one per cent target and replace it with a four-year budget framework for aid that creates predictability and results focus”
• Swedish interests direct aid»Svenska intressen och värderingar om demokrati, rättsstat och individuell frihet ska i högre grad styra valet av biståndsinsatser.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Swedish interests and values concerning democracy, rule of law and individual freedom shall to a greater degree direct the choice of aid interventions.”
• reprioritization towards humanitarian aid»Öka andelen humanitärt bistånd i den svenska biståndsbudgeten« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Increase the share of humanitarian aid in Sweden's aid budget”

The counter-proposal objects to the aid orientation being changed rapidly without support from elected representatives, civil society, labor and business, and wants to slow the reorientation. The plan requires precisely a fundamental reorientation: aid should decrease significantly, be streamlined and evaluated based on effect rather than amounts paid out. Conditioning the reorientation on support from the actors who live off today's orientation is not in line with the plan's direction.

• significantly reduced aiddecisive»Överlag måste det internationella biståndet kraftigt minska och insatserna effektiviseras.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Overall, international aid must decrease significantly and efforts must be streamlined.”
• reorientation toward Swedish welfare»Minska svenskt bistånd till förmån för svensk välfärd och trygghet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduce Swedish aid in favor of Swedish welfare and security”
• effect before budget level»Biståndet ska som alla andra budgetposter värderas utifrån den effekt det får och inte hur mycket pengar som läggs på området.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Aid should like all other budget items be evaluated based on the effect it has and not how much money is allocated to the field.”
• streamlining and evaluation»Effektivisera och utvärdera det svenska biståndet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Streamline and evaluate Swedish aid”