Domestic ideas and interests in development cooperation of emerging donors: the case of Mexican development policy

As emerging donors play a growing role in international development cooperation, attention has turned to understanding their motivations and strategies. While current studies predominantly draw on the role of power, economic interests and values in emerging donors’ development assistance towards the Global South, there has been a lack of attention to the role of domestic ideas and interests in governmental preference formation. How do these domestic factors shape ideational and material interests-driven development policy preferences? Drawing on the case of Mexico under the government of President Calderón, this study analyses bilateral development assistance through a domestic politics lens of international political economy. I argue that while the government's rhetorical stance significantly correlates with dominant societal ideas, domestic interests provide only a limited explanation for development policy choices. This study enriches the literature by revealing the often-hidden domestic roots of value-based and interest-driven development assistance preferences among donors.