Triangular cooperation and the global governance of development assistance: Canada and Brazil as “co-donors”
The global governance of development assistance is currently under a process of important transformation in many ways, with the rise of “emerging” donors – such as Brazil, China and India – prompting serious debates over concepts adopted by traditional donors and fomenting novel interactions. One strategy that brings together “emerging” and traditional donors is “triangular cooperation” (a.k.a “trilateral cooperation”); here, two “co-donors” join forces to promote development assistance initiatives in a third country. This article argues that countries can be motivated to engage in “triangular cooperation” for two main reasons: first, its likelihood of improved effectiveness for a lower cost; second: the opportunity it provides for the “co- donors” to strengthen their relationship. This article focuses on this second point, and explores it by analysing the potential for triangular cooperation between Canada and Brazil. The attention is on how this mechanism can help this traditional donor improve its ties not only with Brazil but with Latin American countries in general. Evidence suggests that while there are already levers in place to make this become a reality, there also important hurdles – such as the inherent complexity involved with triangular cooperation and the certain aspect involving the political interaction between Canada and Brazil.