The Department for International Development Within the British Core Executive

“Based on recently-published Cabinet papers, and supplemented by interviews with former New Labour Ministers and Special Advisers, this fascinating and elegantly-written case study utilises the concept of the ‘core executive’ to examine the early years of the Department for International Development (DfID), and the role of its Minister, Clare Short…This is thoroughly incisive and insightful scholarship, but clearly conveyed.” -Pete Dorey, Professor of British Politics, Cardiff University, UK. "Joshua Larcombe provides a superb analysis of the policy, delivery and managerial revolutions that helped make DfID, in its heyday, the superpower of development organisations. Just how significant DfID was becomes more apparent each day since its abolition.” -Sir Suma Chakrabarti, DfID Permanent Secretary 2002 2007. During Tony Blair’s tenure, the Department for International Development (DfID) enjoyed an unprecedented level of prestige and success. Drawing on archival material and original interviews, this book seeks to examine the creation of DfID under New Labour and its first five years in operation. Utilising the concept of the 'core executive', it shows how political acumen shaped DfID, and highlights the department’s work during British intervention in Kosovo and its engagement in Sierra Leone between 1998 and 2002. It concludes by exploring what DfID reveals about New Labour’s approach to foreign affairs and international development more broadly. Through uniting the study of British politics, governance and development policy, this book provides the most comprehensive political analysis of DfID to date.