How do “Emerging” Donors Differ from “Traditional” Donors?

Debate about the role and impact of the so-called “emerging donors” is becoming increasingly heated. The common reaction to these new donors, distinct from that accorded traditional donors, has had the unfortunate effect of obscuring two important aspects of the evolving aid landscape: 1) commonalities between the emerging donors and traditional Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors; and 2) an evident diversity among the emerging donors. The biases at play are derived not only from a lack of sufficient information about how these new donors operate on the ground, but also from a lack of effort to integrate and analyze information that is available. This paper examines the impact of four emerging donors — China, India, the Republic of Korea (hereinafter referred to as “Korea”), and Thailand — on Cambodia‟s development, with a specific focus on the processes of aid provision by these new donors. By accounting for the experiences of the recipient country, this paper also challenges the conventional view that aid fragmentation should be reduced a priori.