Small States, Big Aspirations? Shifting Dutch development policies (1973) and Dutch technical aid to Colombia: the Microbiological and Parasitological Centre project (1969-1976)

Abstract

Jan Pronk, Dutch Minister of Development Cooperation, implemented a progressive development policy in 1973, drastically affecting Dutch development aid to the Third World. These developments were embedded in the rise of anti-capitalist and non-Western development theories, shaping new North-South relations. This study conducted archival research into Dutch technical aid to Colombia based on the case study of the Microbiological and Parasitological Centre (MPC) project at the University of the Andes in Bogotá, Colombia from 1969-1976. It focussed on two turning points: the concentration policy (1966) and the progressive policy shift (1973). The research question is as follows: How did the shift in the Dutch development policy influence the allocation, structure and effectiveness of Dutch technical aid to Colombia from 1969-1976? By using a conceptual framework on small states and development aid, it aimed to uncover new explanations regarding the historical development relation between the Netherlands and Latin America. The study found that new criteria for concentration countries were introduced due to the shift in development policy towards the promotion of self-reliance, and the reduction of self-serving interests of donor countries in line with humane internationalism. Based on these interpretations, Colombia was demoted in 1975 from a general concentration country to a special concentration country. This led to similar allocations, a change in aid from long-term, extended technical assistance programmes to short-term, project-based aid, and a decline in the effectiveness of aid due to a temporary stagnation in technical cooperation. The focus of aid turned towards projects that more directly benefited the socio-economically disadvantaged. The MPC project and its research into tropical diseases can, moreover, be seen as a successful example of Dutch-Colombian technical cooperation in this period, despite its shortcomings.