There are many books about aid and development, but most of them either assume a good deal of prior knowledge about the subject, or are written to make the case for or against aid. The first part of this volume is intended to put aid and development into their historical and political context, beginning with the post-World War Two settlement, showing how they have been shaped by that context and in particular by the Cold War and the decolonisation process. It shows how the end of the Cold War led to new development priorities and a new aid compact with a much stronger emphasis on issues like governance, rights and democratisation, beginning with the countries of eastern and central Europe and then more generally. It traces the path by which the reduction of poverty has taken centre-stage as the key objective of aid and development over the past quarter of a century, and looks at priorities for a new set of Sustainable Development Goals that will provide the framework for aid and development efforts for the next 15 years. It looks at the shifting balance of global power, and suggests ways in which international institutions need to adjust to reflect that balance. The second part is a Compendium of key words and concepts mentioned in Part One, and further background on some of the major international organisations and institutions with a role in aid and development.

Most Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries have accepted, in principle at least, the 50-year-old commitment of contributing 0.7 per cent of gross national income to supporting the development of countries in the Global South. But what if all countries made a universal development commitment, meaning a scaled contribution? We propose a new universal and scaled financial commitment to development, informed by but not necessarily identical to official development assistance. This paper: (i) sets out how a new era is emerging of fewer very poor countries and higher global ambitions-for example, to end poverty; (ii) proposes a new way to raise and govern international public funds; (iii) discusses the possible size and use of contributions, and the evolution in global governance and democracy that a new deal would entail. We conclude with a set of questions that the proposal raises.