GPPi researcher questions call for German ministry for global development

On 27 October 2013, GPPi Research Associate Elias Sagmeister has published an op-ed in the German news magazine ZEIT ONLINE, where he – in response to a recent call for the creation of an entirely new German ​“ministry for global development” – argues that rather than merging foreign policy and development work under one roof, Germany’s development ministry should refocus on its main task: combating poverty. 

The globalized world is increasingly concerned with a shared set of problems. Reducing the environmental impact of energy use, protecting the oceans and biodiversity, stabilizing global financial markets, strengthening democratization, supporting weak states – these are all are issues of a global dimension. But charging a single ministry with all these tasks, Sagmeister writes, is not feasible. 

The core competency of development work, Sagmeister points out, is and remains poverty reduction. This focus would risk being subordinated to other foreign policy interests if a single ministry attempted to tackle the herculean task of addressing all global problems. A successful modern policy of development, he explains, tailors aid and assistance to the needs of each country, and includes contributions from the receiving countries themselves. 

The ministry of development under the new German government thus does not need to be reinvented. Rather, writes Sagmeister, it should more critically assess its own work and focus on assisting those states that do not have the means or know-how to address poverty themselves.