Unilateralism versus Multilateralism? Emerging Countries and Emerging Multilateralisms

Abstract

This paper discusses the diverse approaches of emerging countries to multilateral aid by comparing the different approaches of two Asian multilateral aid partners, Gulf donors and China. Gulf donors, a culturally and religiously homogeneous group, share common norms through which the prevailing regional members develop their own multilateral aid systems on a regional level. Their Coordination Group, functioning in a similar way to the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC), provides an important regional coordination mechanism for facilitating aid. Recently, Gulf donors have also been collaborating on providing more traditional multilateral aid. By contrast, China, an emerging superpower, not only has its own aid norms, but it also has enormous power to institutionalize its new multilateral aid structure on a global level. While demanding more space and a greater voice for emerging countries in traditional multilateral aid, China has succeeded in initiating a new form of multilateralism, through institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the New Development Bank (NDB or BRICS Bank), and the One Belt, One Road Initiative (OBOR).