The Construction of Global North Benevolence

Development Discourse and Constitutional Law

Abstract

Though usually considered a foreign policy rather than a legal issue, official development aid (ODA) is often, to some extent, regulated by law, whether through constitutional norms or dedicated development cooperation legislation. This research studies the potential role of development law in constructing Global North subjects as particularly solidary, benevolent, and generous. Echoing post-development thought, I submit that countries in the Global North etch a particular conception of both the Global South and themselves directly into their legal systems through the constitutional and legal regulation of ODA. Whereas the Global South is conceived as impoverished and helpless, the Global North can position itself as a champion of international solidarity through ODA and the constitutional and legal norms pertaining to it. Using Switzerland as a case study, this research seeks to uncover the ways in which (constitutional) development law shapes collective identities and participates in creating the Global North's benevolent, or charitable, (self-)image.