tl;dr: New name, same game? Germany’s development policy faces calls for reform. #FutureOfCooperation
Just as I am about to launch a series on the future of international cooperation, reports emerged in the German press about a strategy paper from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The paper, reportedly circulated among numerous NGOs, states: “Development aid was yesterday.” For instance, it suggests renaming the ministry from “Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development” to “Federal Ministry for International Cooperation.” (Table.Media - German, paywall)
Two things come to my mind:
- Terminology matters: If the ministry has indeed used the term “development aid”, it is referring to a concept that is outdated in its own discourse. A more apt headline might have been “Development Cooperation was yesterday”, although that might have appeared too bold. 
- A decades-old déjà vu: Almost ten years ago in 2015, a think tank with good relations to the ministry, now known as the German Institute for Development and Sustainability (IDOS), similarly claimed that “development aid was yesterday”, prompted by a British report on “beyond aid”. Despite some vague recommendations in the paper, there has been little substantive change in the way development cooperation is done in Germany. Notably, in the United Kingdom, the relevant ministry was part of the Foreign Office during this period. 
These discussions signal the considerable pressure on this policy area. It’s crucial to critically assess what is needed in terms of substantive change to avoid rebranding efforts that are merely symbolic gestures.
