Governance
Working Paper 207/2025: The Historical Constraints of Africa South-South Cooperation: 30 years of TICAD through the lenses of South-South-Triangular Cooperation
Abstract
Placing emphasis on the concepts of self-reliance and self-help, this paper contributes to the broad literature on South-South and Triangular cooperation, first, to understand its conceptual significance to south-south cooperation; second, to understand why from an historical perspective south-south cooperation has not advanced in Africa; and third, drawing on three decades of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, to understand the extent of TICAD contribution to promoting Africa’s self-reliance, essential to ending Africa’s marginalization and exit aid dependency. Based on insights from cross-analysis OECD reports, TICAD documents, UN and OAU historical resolutions, and secondary literature, through a qualitative and chronological approach, roughly from 1960 to 2022, we find that the role of TICAD through SS-TrC not only has contributed to structural development changes in Africa, but also redefined the paradigm of development assistance based on country ownership and equal partnership, thus becoming part of the Global Agenda for Development.
Cite this Working Paper
Amakasu Raposo de Medeiros Carvalho, Pedro Miguel (2025). “The Historical Constraints of Africa South-South Cooperation: 30 years of TICAD through the lenses of South-South-Triangular Cooperation”. CEsA/ISEG Research – Documentos de trabalho nº 207/2025
Working Paper 206/2025: Multiplexing Corporate Power: Navigating corporate autonomy in the EU Global Gateway
Abstract
The EU’s Global Gateway initiative relies on corporations to achieve geoeconomic goals, creating structural dependence on actors with autonomous transformation capacity. By analyzing official documents and three flagship projects (Lobito Corridor (Angola), Dakar BRT (Senegal), and Lumut Maritime Industrial City (Malaysia)) I develop a “geoeconomic force multiplexing” framework explaining how corporations process public inputs across geographic, sectoral, temporal, and network dimensions. Four “multiplexer profiles” emerge from the interaction of leverage and patron dependence: autonomous (high leverage, low dependence), directed (high leverage, high dependence), bounded (low leverage, high dependence), and opportunistic (low leverage, low dependence). The EU faces inherent tension: channeling priorities through high-leverage corporations invites lower steerability, while more dependent actors lack transformative capacity. Delegating implementation to corporate actors creates path-dependent lock-ins that may redirect or undermine original objectives.
Cite this Working Paper
Pais Bernardo, Luís (2025). “Multiplexing Corporate Power: Navigating corporate autonomy in the EU Global Gateway”. CEsA/ISEG Research – Documentos de trabalho nº 206/2025
African agency in geopolitical times: playing with EU and Chinese ontological security
Abstract
In 2021 the European Union (EU) launched Global Gateway (GG). This new €300 billion European strategy is intended to boost the EU’s involvement in areas such as transport infrastructure, green energy, and digitalisation in developing countries. The African continent is expected to benefit with half of the expected figures. Much of the debate in the past few years has attempted to dissect the (geo)political, financial and economic dimensions of GG from the perspective of Brussels and EU Member States’ policymakers. However, very little has been discussed on how African policymakers have perceived GG. This paper will thus focus on African agency in the context of GG and the broader framework of Africa–EU relations. Moreover, it will compare this agency with that which has been displayed in the past decade of relations between Africa and China. Drawing on an ontological security analytical framework, the paper seeks to understand the new dynamics and contestations of African agency in the continent’s relations with the EU and China that have been ignored in both mainstream and critical approaches to EU foreign policy studies.
Cite this Paper
Duggan, N., Haastrup, T., Hogan, J. J., Mah, L., & Bernardo, L. (2025). African agency in geopolitical times: playing with EU and Chinese ontological security. Third World Quarterly, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2025.2551134
Mundo Crítico No 12: Desafios actuais do financiamento
Abstract:
Over the past few months, we have been witnessing profound changes in what is known as Development Aid. The reduction of ODA by several countries, including the USA and the United Kingdom, is opening up new scenarios at a time when a more multipolar world vision is emerging—one that increasingly favours a “blended growth” model, where diverse types of financing and approaches combine the public and private sectors. Another element to consider is the growing importance of large-scale philanthropic actors in Development Cooperation. The “Conversa Imperfeita” that opens this edition of “Mundo Crítico”, bringing together Ana Fernandes and Ndongo Samba Sylla, reflects on the tensions running through this new ODA context, highlighting longstanding structural issues while also attempting to outline the new challenges posed by this present moment and the near future.
In the same vein, the contributions in this edition reflect on the so-called ODA crisis from various perspectives, following the evolution of this mechanism and moving towards an outlook capable of engaging with the emerging world order, as well as the financial implications that come with it. Alongside these more analytical texts, we have chosen to publish the Portuguese versions of pieces that point towards concrete proposals aimed at a fairer reform of resource allocation, and consequently, the distribution of wealth. To help foster alternative thinking, we also offer a reflection on the Participatory Budget in Uzbekistan, as a case study in development financing through public participation.
The “Modos de Ver” section features part of a report on the international e-waste trade, carried out in Ghana by journalists Paula Borges and Djibril Mandjam, the result of a journalism grant from an ACEP initiative in partnership with Eurodad. The same issue is at the heart of one of the “Narrativas”, while another provides an insider’s account of the drastic funding cuts from USAID.
The theme of the “Ecos Gráficos” section is the exploitation of creative labour. This edition concludes with a review of Carlos Lopes’s book The Self-Deception Trap.
Cite this Journal:
ACEP & CEsA (2025). “Desafios actuais do financiamento”. ISEG/CEsA – Centro de Estudos sobre África e Desenvolvimento. Revista Mundo Crítico nº 12 (Jul 2025). ISSN 2184-1926
Working Paper 203/2025: Marés de Mudança: Portugal e a importância da sua Plataforma Continental
Abstract:
Portugal, known for its historic maritime traditions, is currently immersed in a strategic ambition regarding the expansion of its continental shelf driven by geopolitical, economic and environmental factors, placing the country before a dynamic maritime scenario full of challenges and opportunities. The rise of the blue economy, synonymous with a sustainable economy, redefines the indispensability of the ocean and its centrality in the balance of building the sustainable development that is sought globally (Cristas, 2022). Using a qualitative methodology, the aim is to reflect on the main benefits that Portugal can obtain from the possible approval of the expansion of its continental shelf, by the United Nations Organisation (UNO). The future, according to the National Strategy for the Sea 2021-2030 (República Portuguesa, 2021), should involve defining a strategy, based on a system of alliances, that will allow Portugal to move forward with the sustainable exploitation of the marine resources (Seguro, 2022).
Cite this Working Paper:
Pinguinha, Sofia Rocha and Eduardo Moraes Sarmento (2025). “Marés de Mudança: Portugal e a importância da sua Plataforma Continental”. CEsA/CSG – Documentos de trabalho nº 203/2025
Os Actores Não Governamentais na Avaliação: Exemplos práticos em Moçambique e Guiné-Bissau
Abstract:
This work was conceived with a specific approach: the evaluation of the projects was conducted first, and only after its completion was the idea of publishing a small book on the evaluations considered. Since there was no coordination or dialogue between the “logic of theorization” and the “logic of practice” in the evaluation process intended for the evaluators (something that would undoubtedly have been interesting if done prior to the project evaluations), it was not feasible for the publication to revise certain aspects of the evaluations to systematically incorporate the international debate on the methodologies employed.
The book begins with an introductory section featuring a first chapter by Ana Filipa Oliveira, who provides a historical overview of ideas on evaluation and its institutionalization by various cooperation funders. In the second chapter, Jessica Santos analyses foundations as actors in the field of cooperation, drawing on her master’s research.
The second part contains a chapter by David Ávila, evaluating the “Tree of Hope” project in Maputo Province, specifically in the town of Namaacha in the area of agricultural production, which includes a significant research component, as well as the “Point by Point with Health” project in Inhambane. Jerusa Costa authors the following chapter, where she evaluates a set of projects supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in the area of health in Guinea-Bissau. This chapter concludes with a response from ACEP to Jerusa Santos’s evaluation of the project “Women and Development: Self-employment and Self-confidence.”
Finally, Carlos Sangreman writes the conclusions and recommendations, proposing the effective institutionalisation of evaluation in the context of non-governmental cooperation through the implementation of a pilot certification project.
Cite this book:
Sangreman, Carlos (Coordenação) .(2014). Os actores não governamentais na avaliação : exemplos práticos em Moçambique e Guiné-Bissau. Edição CEsA. Apoio Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. 2014
The Values of Portuguese International Development Cooperation: Review and update after 2013
Abstract:
In recent years, International Development Cooperation has assumed particular importance in scientific research and there are currently several studies of general scope or limited to a smaller geographical or thematic space, such as those that focus on national cooperation policies. In general, these works have sought not only to explain its historical, institutional and strategic evolution, but also to constitute a basis for reflection on a long journey of ideas, values and practices that it has been following and its results with partner countries. Portuguese Cooperation is no exception and, in general, all the publications that contextualize it refer directly or indirectly to the general values by which it is governed. However, there aren´t studies that identify the individual reference values of the action of the Cooperation actors in their practice of identifying, managing, and evaluating projects. In this article, we intend to identify the values considered as guiding principles of the action that the actors of the Portuguese Cooperation individually consider in the practices they develop. Such an intention constitutes a real innovation, since the only values identified so far are those that governments include in the strategies presented, more or less inspired by the documents of the European Union (EU) and the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Cite this paper:
Sangreman, Carlos e Raquel Faria (2024). ” The values of Portuguese International Development Cooperation: Review and Update after 2013″. In Recent Research Advances in Arts and Social Studies (Vol. 4), M. Camino Escolar-Llamazares (ed), 148-167. London: B P International
Brief Paper 1/1998: Construccíón Democrática y Gobernabilidad en Africa
Abstract:
African political players are today faced with a double challenge: building democratic regimes and, at the same time, equipping them with governments capable of managing the transformations necessary for development. A close look at this phenomenon reveals that democracy building has generally privileged the electoral dimension of the process rather than the underlying social and political dynamics. Moreover, the adoption of Western democratic standards has generated a certain determinism based on the belief in a linear evolution of African societies towards a model of universal democracy. In this sense, it seems necessary to make a clear distinction between democratic principles and the universality of the model. Accepting the existence of a series of democratic principles of unequivocal validity does not, of course, imply the affirmation of the validity of a model applicable to all societies. Confusion between these two dimensions seems to be at the root of certain tensions, such as that between indigenous forms of political participation and those adopted by constitutional and legislative texts based on Western sources. On the basis of the African democratic experiences of this decade, it is interesting to question the validity of the so-called “Western model” for Africa. Communication at the CESA 1997 Seminar: The Problematic of Development – History and a Transdiciplinary Perspective, Conference Construção Democrática e Contributos Actuais numa Governance em África (Democratic Construction and Current Contributions to Governance in Africa), 23 May 1997.
Quotation:
Comunicação no Seminário CEsA 1997: A Problemática do Desenvolvimento – Historicidade e Contributos Actuais numa Óptica Transdiciplinar, Conferência “Construção Democrática e ‘Governance’ em África”, 23 de Maio de 1997.
Brief Paper 1/1995: Como Analisar a Governação
Abstract:
Although the issue of Como analisar a governação is still at the beginning of the discussion in the scientific community, a set of criteria seems to be emerging, little by little, as consensual. For some of them, there is still the problem of which indicators to use, how to quantify them or what normative scale to define in order to assess them, and there are few practical applications of analysis to specific countries. And research needs to be done. The criteria for evaluating governance can be summarised in five groups, which can be applied to the notion of the Contract State and a softer version of the Arena State, where the interest groups that hold power assume the position of the medieval lord with the obligation to look after the welfare of the people, but never forgetting that his family and those close to him come first. Nobody is fully represented by another, and the further away that other is culturally and physically, the weaker the link. Thus, the population that feels that the Members of Parliament in Lisbon or Strasbourg are distant from its problems, tends socially to behave in defence, attack or seek alternatives, always with little credit for those who are far away and do not know each other.
Quotation:
Sangreman, Carlos. 1995. “Como analisar a governação”. Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão – CEsA Brief Papers nº 1-1995.
Working Paper 182/2021: PAIGC a Face do Monopartidarismo na Guiné-Bissau (1974 a 1990)
Abstract:
The African Party for Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) officially took control of political power in Guinea-Bissau in 1974, and for sixteen years has starred in the political scene with a single-party regime – a military dictatorship–with repressive practices as a method to control the opposition, intimidate and maintain power. Our purpose in PAIGC a face do monopartidarismo na Guiné-Bissau (1974 a 1990) is to verify why the party that was for a long time at the forefront of the country, acting as the only political force that controlled the state apparatus, had difficulty executing its main government proposals. For this we seek the following questions: What influence did colonization have on the formation of the PAIGC? Why did the PAIGC face difficulties and were forced to lose its binational identity considered as one of the bases of its ideological beginning? Why in the post-coup period of 1980 could the party not prevent other successive violent conflicts? Was social and ethnic divisionism noted in the internal structures of the PAIGC? The answer may be among other factors: in the legacy left by the colonial past, in the heterogeneity of the national social structure and in the contradictions resulting from the struggle for power within the PAIGC itself. Although, despite the difficulties that are observable, it cannot be refuted its importance as an important player in the construction of national political history.
Quotation:
Semedo, Rui Jorge (2021). “PAIGC a face do monopartidarismo na Guiné-Bissau (1974 a 1990)”. Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão – CEsA/CSG – Documentos de Trabalho nº 182/2021.
