Dialogue in Pursuit of Development - Are you looking for one of ...

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There is, of course, a limit to what they can actually do, but the lack of will
to try is devastating. When it comes to aid in general, I think this lack of will
is the real problem.
So you are pessimistic about what can be achieved through dialogue?
No, what I suggest is that if we are to give aid, we have to keep up a discussion
with the recipient on the prerequisites, possibilities and general policies
of the assistance. These discussions may include general conditions regarding
democratic development, as well as more specific conditions regarding
import support, sector support etc. Two things must, however, be
clear. Firstly, the donor must decide whether the conditions in a certain
country are such that it is at all possible to give assistance and such a decision
cannot be reached through dialogue. Secondly, the donor always has the
upper hand and, thus, the dialogue can never be equal, even if it’s possible
to work in an atmosphere as if it was. I remember one time when Sida
discussed a new phase in the country programme with Angola and the discussions
came to an abrupt halt and the Sida delegation left Angola totally
devastated because they couldn’t reach an agreement. In these circumstances
it would be easy to keep up the illusion that aid discussions really are on
equal terms, as if it was an agreement between an employer and a trade
union, but in the end – relations are not equal.
5. You send out a lot of people to participate in dialogues on difficult subjects as
discussed above. How do you prepare the members of your staff before they
enter these discussions? Do they receive any kind of training within the field
of dialogue or communication?
PM: The more difficult a situation is, the higher the level of discussion must
be. It is really a matter for a director of a unit to discuss human rights issues
or civil rights violations or problems of democratisation. When heavy criticism
is to be delivered, the discussion has to take place between high-level
partners to be able to get the message through. Regarding training and preparing
personnel for dialogue, there is still much to be hoped for. The only
way we prepare ourselves for a dialogue is through the preparations of the
mandate and the discussions related to the approval of that mandate. Then
there is a meeting with the delegation before the dialogue starts – that is all.
When we prepared the new White Paper for the Finnish government, we
also paid attention to these issues and we were discussing some kind of
sensitivity training to at least make delegates aware of what issues must be
on the agenda. How you teach a person to bring up issues in a culturally
correct and constructive way I don’t know. I would not encourage anyone
without long-term experience within this field and contacts with that particular
country to take part in such dialogues. It’s a difficult job that needs
skilful people. At the same time we have to confess that we learn by doing