Foreign aid, inherently political in its nature and deeply embedded into the states’/organizations’ external relations, has been a subject of intensive analysis. The academic literature concerning...Show moreForeign aid, inherently political in its nature and deeply embedded into the states’/organizations’ external relations, has been a subject of intensive analysis. The academic literature concerning foreign aid reveals that the topic of international assistance is a complex heterogeneous subject, since a number of factors directly or implicitly shape aid, these being institutional characteristics, domestic and international politics, as well as the role of public opinion. Moreover, International Relations scholars argue that aid policies differ tremendously depending on the channel through which the international assistance is disbursed. As a result, aid has been classified into bilateral, multilateral and multi-bi, where each of these channels has been associated with specific characteristics. In fact, on the basis of the donor’s trends in the employment of these channels, implications could be drawn about the overall foreign aid policies of traditional state donor. Yet, it is controversial whether the same approach could be used when considering other fund providers, such as international organizations, which feature peculiar arrangements. Especially intriguing is the case of the European Union, due to it being reputed as highly humanitarian international organization, which also contributes large volumes of aid. This research aims by expounding the trends in the Union’s employment of aid channels to explore the extent to which these are correlated to and indicative of its overall foreign aid approach.Show less
