The influence of the Open Method of Coordination on European development aid levels

Most research on the Open Method of Coordination has focused on the effectiveness and legitimacy of learning processes between EU Member States. It has fallen short in explaining the political stakes involved in such coordination. This paper argues that multi-level advocacy coalitions of state and non-state actors can instigate policy change by using the OMC toolset of setting time specific targets, benchmarking performance, and monitoring results. It will scrutinize how EU coordination has influenced the development aid levels of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. On that account it will closely analyze the policy processes of EU coordination on aid levels and probe a number of confounding variables