Lithuania: A Hybrid Development Cooperation Policy

Abstract

Since the last waves of EU enlargement, Central and Eastern European countries’ (CEECs’) foreign policies have raised increased academic attention (Baun & Marek, 2013; Copsey & Pomorska, 2010; Denca, 2009; Pomorska, 2007; Tulmets, 2012). Scholars have sought to grasp the way in which the new Member States influence the EU’s external action (Copsey & Pomorska, 2010) and conversely, the extent to which EU accession has altered their foreign policy priorities and diplomatic practices (Denca, 2009; Pomorska, 2007). In both respects, development cooperation offers a particularly stimulating case study. This is because of two tightly connected factors. First, upon EU accession CEECs had to fully take on board EU rules and policies; yet in the development cooperation area this entailed building a policy framework entirely from scratch (Horký & Lightfoot, 2012, p. 1). Second, this process does not only involve institutional and policy changes; it also delves into societal transformations and actors’ constellations in CEE countries. Therefore, development cooperation is an interesting policy area from which to investigate the substance and degree of domestic change caused by EU integration while also offering insights into domestic preferences, interests and legacies that may influence the transformation into donor countries, too.