Decrypting the EU’s Good Governance Promotion Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Through Development Cooperation

This paper critically examines the principal instruments employed by the European Union to promote good governance in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) through development cooperation. The main research question is: To what extent do the EU’s development cooperation instruments contribute to good governance promotion in Sub-Saharan Africa? To address this question, the paper begins with a brief overview of EU-SSA relations from a historical perspective. It then reviews the various financial and political development cooperation instruments utilized by the EU to promote good governance in SSA. Next, by analyzing relevant data on EU governance aid towards SSA, the paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the characteristics of EU governance aid policies in the region in order to unpack their merits and limits. Finally, the paper critically analyzes the underlining factors behind the mixed outcomes of the EU’s good governance promotion instruments using policy documents, academic articles and various data sources.