THE INFLUENCE OF NGOS ON SPANISH FOREIGN POLICY

THE INFLUENCE OF NGOS ON SPANISH FOREIGN POLICY
TOWARDS NORTH AFRICA REGION: A COMPARISON
BETWEEN THE GEOGRAPHICAL AND THEMATIC
DISTRIBUTION OF DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
PROJECTS AND PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES’ AGENDA
(2004-2008)
IPSA, Madrid
July 2012
Aurèlia Mañé-Estrada (GATE – University of Barcelona)
Miguel H. Larramendi (GRESAM – University of Castilla-La Mancha)
Irene González-González (GRESAM – University of Castilla-La Mancha)
“Nuevos espacios, actores e instrumentos en las relaciones exteriores de España
con el mundo árabe y musulmán” (CSO2011-29438-C05-02)
The Influence of NGOs on Spanish Foreign
Policy towards North Africa Region…..
① Introduction and main goals of the study
② The BDPEX and data selection
③ Main findings
④ Conclusions
1. Introduction and main goals
① The study focuses on the analysis of sub-state actors and / or non-
governmental organizations in the Spanish foreign policy directed
towards North Africa
② The approach of the study is from a decentralized&regional and
non-governmental perspective
③ It has two main goals:
• To show the utility of the BDPEX as an instrument to formulate new
hypothesis of study in the field of the Spanish Foreign Policy
• To test if they were a relationship amid the action and the targets of the so
called sub-state actors: Non Governmental Development Organizations
(NGDO) and Members of the Parliament (MP)
④ The secondary data source is the BDPEX and the primary sources
the follow-up reports from the Spanish cooperation and
development agency (AECID) and the parliamentary questions and
“initiatives” collected by the Spanish Parliament (Congreso de los
Diputados)
2. The BDPEX and data selection: What is
the BDPEX?
• The Foreign Policy database (BDPEX) is a
working tool:
• for the study of Spanish foreign relations
• for detecting, analyzing and decoding the
behavior of different actors and interests,
which shape the Spanish foreign policy
towards the Arab & Muslim world.
2. The BDPEX and data selection: origin
• It results from two research projects from the Spanish
Science and Research Ministry (R & D)
• “Actores e intereses en las relaciones exteriores de
España con el Mundo Árabe" (CSO2008-06232-C03-03)
• "Política exterior y relaciones culturales con el Mundo
Árabe" (SEJ2005-08867-C03-03)
• An interdisciplinary team has been working on its
development
• Each member has contributed to promote a pluralistic view
of the Spanish foreign policy.
2. The BDPEX and data selection: Main aim
• The emergence of new actors and
interests requires the conception of new
series of tools to achieve the right
analysis of the “new” Spanish foreign
policy’s forms .
2. The BDPEX and data selection: working
hypothesis
• The framework for analysis of Spanish
foreign policy must be adapted to the
changes of recent decades, which are:
• The spread of “new” foreign policy actors
• The changes in their capabilities and
resources
• The spring up of new administrative
structures at central, regional and local
levels + Non-Governamental
2. The BDPEX and data selection:
Documentary sources
• Buscador de iniciativas del Congreso de los Diputados (House of Commons)
• Estadísticas de la Ayuda Oficial al Desarrollo (AOD) en los Datos del Seguimiento del Plan
Anual de Cooperación Internacional (PACI) (Statistics of Official Development Assistance)
• Boletín Oficial del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y Cooperación (BOAMAEC) (Official
Newsletter - Foreign Affairs Ministry)
• Guía del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y Cooperación (Guide - Foreign Affairs Ministry)
• Guía de las representaciones de España en el extranjero (Abroad’s Representation Guide)
• Extracto de las hojas de servicio del personal de la carrera diplomática (Diplomatic staff carreers)
• Escalillas del personal de la carrera diplomática, (Diplomatic staff carreers)
• Actividades, textos y Documentos de la Política Exterior Española, Ministerio de Asuntos
Exteriores y de Cooperación (Documents on Spanish Foreign Policy)
• Monografías de los Países Árabes e Islámicos, Dirección General de Comunicación del
Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y Cooperación (Texts on Arab & Muslim World)
• Boletín Oficial del Estado y Colección Histórica (Gazeta) (Government Gazette)
• DataComex, Estadísticas del Comercio Exterior Español (Foreign Trade Statistics)
• DataInvex, Estadísticas de Inversión Española en el Exterior (FDI Statistics)
3. Main findings: cooperation projects
①
To avoid biasing we did not include
Western Sahara in the analysis,
though it is the main target of the
Spanish decentralized ODA
② As expected, Morocco is the main
destination of Spanish ODA, and
Mauritania is the second
③ Nor Egypt nor Libya were a target
of the ODA, though next legislature
they were the protagonists of the
Arab riots
④ None of the rentier countries such
are Algeria and Libya were
considered as ODA targets by
themselves (Western Sahara or
energy export infrastructures)
3. Main findings: cooperation projects
① It is relevant the greater
weight of non centralized
cooperation projects,
compared with the
centralized ones (the
exception is Egypt due to
gas infrastructure
investments)
② It is indicative of the
existence of a great
permeability and porosity
of the external
cooperation through local
and civil society
3. Main findings: cooperation projects
Number of projects channeled through NGDO,
by “region” of origin and destination country
① The main destination
countries are Morocco,
Mauritania and Algeria
② The main donors (by
number of projects) are:
Cataluña. Andalucía and
Canarias:
③ So, the main work
hypothesis are….
3. Main findings: cooperation projects
In “regional” and non-governmental terms:
①There is no direct relationship between economic relations
and cooperation
②There is no correlation between GDP per capita and level of
cooperation
③There is no single reason for NGDO action and non-tangible,
historic and cultural reasons seem to have great influence
④Immigration has great influence in both senses: securization
and immigrants as non-governmental actors
⑤Institutional support may be crucial in fostering NGDO
action (maybe ideological too?)
3. Main findings: cooperation projects
Number of projects channeled through NGDO,
by “subject” and destination country
① The “subject”
classification does not
provide meaningful
information, because
it is highly determined
by the priorities of the
Spanish Cooperation
Agency
3. Main findings: House of Commons
As it happens in the cooperation projects case:
①The Western Sahara is the main matter of concern aroused in the
Parliamentary debates:
• In a very exceptional way 10% of the debate initiates were from
local and city authorities. All of them were related to the
Western Sahara issue
• The Western Sahara issue is spread amid the initiatives of MP of
every single Autonomous Community. Even in the case of
Extremadura is the only issue of debate
• If refined, the thematic analysis shows that 42 of the 128
interventions that are classified as "security and defense" also
deal with issues relating to the Western Sahara.
3. Main findings: House of Commons
Area of interest of the “regional” MPs
① As it happens in the
case of cooperation’s
projects the main
geographic concern of
the MPs are Morocco,
Algeria and
Mauritania
3. Main findings: House of Commons
Main issues of interest of the “regional” MPs
① As an “aggregate” the Parliamentary debate is “securized”,
though there are “local” differences…..
3. Main findings: House of Commons
① There are four types
of “local” interest:
①
The securized “over
acting” communities
(imigration and security
is its main concern):
Castilla-León & Murcia
② The diversified and
“under acting”
communities: Cataluña,
Andalucia & Canarias
③ Galicia, “the economic”
community
④ The others…..
4. Conclusions
The comparison between the decentralized –NGDO- cooperation
projects and the “regional” MPs interventions, shows that:
①From the point of view of destination country:
• The Western Sahara is the “big” issue for the de-centralized and non-
governmental Spanish Foreign Policy actors, but it is not for central
governmental Spanish Foreign Policy
• Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania are the main concern for both types of
actors, though the evolution of Mauritania is still a “mystery” and in the
Algerian case, the central-governmental interest looks more economic than
the de-centralized, non-governmental.
• None of the countries where, some months later, the “Arab riots” explode
were a matter of concern for de-centralized and non-governmental Spanish
Foreign Policy actors
4. Conclusions
The comparison between the decentralized –NGDO- cooperation
projects and the “regional” MPs interventions, shows that:
①From the point of view of “region” of origin, there are three types
of “local” actors:
• Actors which have different interests and local institutions which support
some external action. These are Catalonia, Andalusia and the Canary Islands,
which are characterized by the most active in channeling ODA projects
through NGOs 'local', targeting different topics, and are characterized also
by having MPs with a diversified interest in the region
• Actors form communities like Murcia or Castile-Leon, whose action through
decentralized cooperation is very slight, but whose MPs are extremely active
on issues such as immigration and internal security. We understand that in
these communities is where the securization of foreign policy is greater
• The actors from the “Atlantic” communities, whose interest for the North
African matters is little, except for the Galician case, whose stakes are on the
fishing issues.
4. Conclusions
The comparison between the decentralized –NGDO- cooperation
projects and the “regional” MPs interventions, shows that:
①The “thematic” comparison is meaningless