Author: Deborah Bräutigam.

Although the role of international sources of ideas as an input in domestic development has long been recognized, it is only recently that scholars have begun to systematically explore the ways in which development ideas are generated, transmitted, and adopted (or abandoned). Development ideologies can be forged from persistent and deep-rooted elements in a nation’s cultural heritage, but can also change rapidly, particularly under direction from above. China’s aid was affected by the turbulence in China’s domestic political strategies during the pre-reform period, particularly during the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, when many of China’s aid programs in African countries were launched, and by the about-face in the post-1978 reforms.