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Global Governance and Muslim Organizations pp 131–147Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Global Governance and the Informal Nature of Islamic Development Assistance: The Peculiar Case of Gulf States

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Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

Abstract

This chapter scrutinizes the fragmentation of the OIC aid system. It is argued that this fragmentation is a result of the asymmetrical intergovernmental relationship between a small number of aid donors (notably the hydrocarbon-rich Gulf States) and a large and increasing pool of aid recipients. The chapter illustrates that this process is empowered by the asymmetrical setting of the OIC (there are very few donors with whom to compete), donors have “bilateralized” the multilateral by supporting their own “aid recipients”. This has progressively fragmented the OIC aid system. In parallel, because borrowers and aid recipients dominate the OIC arena numerically, their increasing demands have enhanced donor organization proliferation, to the detriment of a cohesive OIC aid system. The combination of these two trends explains why the OIC system is fragmented, structurally underfunded, and difficult to reform. These consequences constitute a challenge that the OIC must address going forward.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The ISFD was to “(a) reduce poverty, (b) build the productive capacities of member countries, (c) reduce illiteracy, and (d) eradicate diseases and epidemics, particularly Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS” (ISFD, 2016).

  2. 2.

    These are Mozambique (1994), Togo (1997), and Côte d’Ivoire (2001).

  3. 3.

    The four new beneficiaries are Somalia, Niger, Comoros, and the minority Rohingya community in Myanmar (IsDB, 2015: 7).

  4. 4.

    This is the equivalent of 4–14 percent share from the total international humanitarian aid.

  5. 5.

    On top of funds, OIC Gulf member states also host the headquarters of OIC aid institutions and provide and advocate for the OIC’s access to specific sensitive zones: in Gaza, ICHAD convoys were dependent on Saudi (and Hashemite) Red Crescent charities (Bakhit, 2008; OIC, 2015 No. 1/42).

  6. 6.

    In the OIC, the UAE and Qatar are scaling up their national programs with the Qatar Development Fund and the Ministry of International Cooperation and Development, respectively, just as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have done before them (Tok, 2015).

  7. 7.

    This information is publicly available on the website (https://www.sfd.gov.sa).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar

    M. Evren Tok

  2. University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Cristina D’Alessandro

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  1. M. Evren Tok
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Leslie A. Pal

  2. College of Islamic Studies Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar

    M. Evren Tok

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Tok, M.E., D’Alessandro, C. (2019). Global Governance and the Informal Nature of Islamic Development Assistance: The Peculiar Case of Gulf States. In: Pal, L.A., Tok, M.E. (eds) Global Governance and Muslim Organizations. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92561-5_5

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