The EU and Turkey’s Development Aid Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa: Unpacking the Similarities and Differences

Abstract

Turkey’s involvement in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has inevitably attracted the attention of the international community, EU policymakers and individual EU Member states, considering the historical, political, security, and economic ties that exist between the EU and Turkey, and the fact that the UN Agenda 2030 called for an improving harmonization of donors’ policies to increase aid effectiveness and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the recipient countries. In light of these factors, it has become obvious that Turkey has gradually become a potential “emerging” donor in SSA which can no longer be marginalized in the literature. Together with the likes of other emerging aid donors in SSA such as China, India, and Brazil, Turkish aid policies and modalities in SSA ought to be examined and understood. This article aims to add some insights to the existing literature by exploring and highlighting the patterns of convergence and divergence between Turkey and the EU’s development aid policies and practices in SSA in terms of aid motivations, modalities, and sectoral and geographical distributions.