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Undoing Aid: UK Aid Cuts, Development Relationships and Resourcing Futures in Malawi

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  • Alyssa Morley
  • Rachel Silver

Abstract

The decision of the United Kingdom government to reduce its Official Development Assistance by £ 4.6 billion in 2020 was framed by its proponents as a nationalist response to a domestic financial crisis. This Conservative‐led austerity measure triggered the early closure of hundreds of aid projects globally. Concerned British politicians equated the cuts to moral failures as humanitarian and civil society actors claimed the lost funding would devastate the world's most vulnerable populations. In the vast space between British funders and the so‐called ‘beneficiaries’ of aid is a diverse cadre of mid‐level actors ‘doing’ and, in this case, ‘un‐doing’ development programming. This article examines their experiences in prematurely closing British‐funded projects in one postcolonial context, Malawi. Drawing upon semi‐structured interviews, the article explores the emotional, material and relational consequences of austerity. It builds on Didier Fassin's theorization of moral economies to argue that the timing and approach of this funding withdrawal violated the accepted moral economies of aid, breaching obligations between Malawian mid‐level aid workers and community members (including family) as well as among institutions. It concludes by considering how this particular rupture to the relational infrastructure of aid has prompted demands for recalibrated resourcing futures in Malawi.

Suggested Citation

  • Alyssa Morley & Rachel Silver, 2023. "Undoing Aid: UK Aid Cuts, Development Relationships and Resourcing Futures in Malawi," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 54(6), pages 1452-1479, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:54:y:2023:i:6:p:1452-1479
    DOI: 10.1111/dech.12810
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David Slater & Morag Bell, 2002. "Aid and the Geopolitics of the Post‐Colonial: Critical Reflections on New Labour’s Overseas Development Strategy," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 33(2), pages 335-360, April.
    2. Rana Dajani & Heather D. Flowe & Ben Warwick, 2021. "Social and political justice hit by UK aid cuts," Nature, Nature, vol. 592(7854), pages 353-353, April.
    3. Blessings Chinsinga, 2011. "The politics of land reforms in Malawi: The case of the Community Based Rural Land Development Programme (CBRLDP)," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(3), pages 380-393, April.
    4. Jenni Barclay & Kent Buse & Claire J. Horwell & Sarah Hawkes, 2021. "Thousands protest against funding cuts to SDG work," Nature, Nature, vol. 592(7854), pages 353-353, April.
    5. Ivica Petrikova & Melita Lazell, 2022. "“Securitized” UK aid projects in Africa: Evidence from Kenya, Nigeria and South Sudan," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 40(1), January.
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