The post-cold war international system is still in the making. This volume aims at taking stock of the effects on North-South relations in general and aid in particular emerging from the revolutionary system transformation taking place in the late 1980s.

The changes in the international framework conditions emerging from this source have not affected the aid policy of all donor governments equally strongly or in the same way; nor have they been the only factors that influenced North-South relations or aid policies.

Other developments during these crucial years carried influence, with a bearing on aid and aid policies. Framework conditions changed in the North, within individual donor countries as well as between them, and also in their relations with recipients of development assistance. Similarly in the South, changes took place which affected both North-South relations and aid. Developments varied from one region to another, and experiences emerging from aid relations differed, too.

The spotlight is directed at several of these critical issues in order to benefit from experiences gained, focus on policy dilemmas, and identify some new initiatives of importance for aid and aid policies towards the year 2000. It is impossible to cover all the aspects that are important in such a perspective: it is necessary to be selective.

In order to fit the selected issues into a broader framework, an extensive first chapter by the editor aims at providing the state of the art by drawing lines back and, at the same time, exploring the future of aid.