Den motvillige europén? - En studie av svensk biståndspolitik efter EU-medlemskapet

In order to understand the effects of European integration on national politics this thesis examines Swedish bilateral development aid-politics; how it has changed character after membership in the European Union; and if political integration has led to an Europeanization of Swedish aid-politics. The theoretical framework is based on Neofunctional theory, which explains political integration. The findings derive from quantitative and qualitative analyses of Swedish development policies for Tanzania. The entire donor community operates within the country which makes Tanzania the perfect case to study changes in Swedish aid-politics. The study found that the EU has successfully consolidated itself as an establishment for multilateral aid cooperation and integrated itself into the Swedish administration to such a degree that multilateral aid politics is becoming increasingly Europeanized. According to neofunctional teaching bilateral aid politics ought to be incorporated into the EU policy-sphere due to “spill-over effects” and “the transfer of domestic allegiances” – resulting in increasing signs of European political integration in bilateral politics. However few indications supporting the Europeanization of bilateral aid policy were observed, which lead to the conclusion that bilateral aid is not overly influenced by the EU or Europeanized. Instead the study found strong indications of international integration. The EU's insufficient institutional capacity; inadequate transfer of domestic allegiances; and the pre-existence of developed international organizations for aid-cooperation were found to be the main explanations for its inability to integrate and Europeanize bilateral aid-policy within the union