Decolonising Aid

The wave of Black Lives Matter protests around the world have brought into sharp focus the need to confront the ways in which Europe’s colonial past shapes our collective present. Calls for decolonisation respond to the long overdue need for honest reflection, acknowledgement and remedy for the legacy of Empire across all facets of modern life, including within the UK aid sector.

This briefing seeks to examine why UK aid must be decolonised and looks at some of the first steps for working towards this. It begins by exploring colonialism and its enduring legacy both on global poverty and the development of racial hierarchies. In moving to alternatives, it set out why localisation is important but - on its own - insufficient and the importance of reimagining aid as reparations. It concludes with suggestions of ways forward for the UK aid sector, with recommendations for both government and INGOs, as part of building a reimagined aid sector.