Professor Poppy S. Winanti from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FISIPOL UGM), reaffirms her contribution to the global development discourse through her latest scholarly publication titled “International Development Cooperation and Domestic Support: Strategies of TIKA and TICA as Emerging Donors”. The article appears in Jurnal Penelitian Politik published by BRIN, Volume 21, No. 1, 2024.
In this work, Prof. Winanti critically examines the growing involvement of developing countries in the Global South as new actors in international development cooperation. The focus lies on how countries such as Thailand and Turkey — each with their dedicated agencies, the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) — play their roles as emerging donors, providing foreign aid despite still being classified as developing nations.
The article not only explores the external motives and strategies behind foreign aid provision but also investigates a key challenge for emerging donors: ensuring domestic support for foreign aid policies. Using an approach that emphasizes material interests and domestic political contestation, Prof. Winanti argues that for aid programs to gain political legitimacy at home, their design and implementation must align with the interests of dominant actors within each country’s political system.
Through a comparative case study of TIKA and TICA, the article reveals how Thailand employs development cooperation as a tool for regional diplomacy while addressing cross-border issues such as illegal migration and infectious diseases. Meanwhile, Turkey leverages international aid to build political influence and expand economic reach, with strategies rooted in historical and cultural ties, particularly toward Turkic countries in Central Asia.
A particularly notable insight from the article is that international development cooperation by developing countries does not necessarily replicate the models of developed nations. Instead, it has the potential to foster alternative approaches based on equality and South–South solidarity. However, the article also cautions that when aid policies are overly driven by domestic agendas, the emancipatory and participatory spirit of development cooperation risks being overshadowed by pragmatic political interests.
This study is especially relevant in the context of Indonesia, which is currently expanding its own Indonesian Aid agency as a new player in foreign aid diplomacy. It offers strong strategic and conceptual references for designing aid models that are responsive to domestic political contexts while maintaining a commitment to global contributions.