An Oral History of Development Cooperation: Experiences of Japan and its Partners - Hardcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Yoichi Mine is Executive Director of the JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development. He is also Extraordinary Professor, the Department of Political Science, University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. His research interests include human security, international development, and African area study. His English publications include Connecting Africa and Asia: Afrasia As a Benign Community (Routledge, 2022), Human Security Norms in East Asia (co-edited, Palgrave, 2019), Human Security and Cross-Border Cooperation in East Asia (co-edited, Palgrave, 2019), Migration and Agency in a Globalizing World (co-edited, Palgrave, 2018), and Preventing Violent Conflict in Africa (co-edited, Palgrave, 2013).

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This Open Access book offers a comprehensive oral history of Japan’s development cooperation, based on nearly 300 interview narratives collected in Indonesia, Chile, Tanzania, Malaysia, Thailand, Costa Rica, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, Jordan, Brazil, Cambodia, and Japan. Unlike most books on development cooperation, which are written from the perspective of aid providers, this book gives voice to local actors – referred to as ‘counterparts’ – in aid recipient countries. In an era of geopolitical polarisation and parochialism, the book compellingly presents alternative ways of development cooperation founded on mutually respectful relationships between foreign experts and their partners. The case studies cover primary and manufacturing industries, infrastructure, education, health, migration, environmental sustainability, and peace. The book invites readers to rethink how development cooperation can be reimagined in our divided world.

In this era when development cooperation undergoes drastic transformation, it is crucial for us to learn from past experience to inform future strategies. Japan’s approach has focused on teaching people how to fish rather than giving them fish, thereby fostering unbreakable bonds of trust with local people. This book vividly depicts how these trusting relationships enabled development projects to overcome unforeseen challenges and crises. By sharing narratives of those involved, the book also reveals their expectation, frustration, and a shared sense of accomplishment. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the future direction of global efforts in development cooperation.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Akihiko Tanaka, President, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Yoichi Mine is Executive Director, JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development. His English publications include Connecting Africa and Asia: Afrasia As a Benign Community (Routledge).