A definitive shift in both resources and rhetoric has upended the global development sector. The policy changes are most visible in the new US presidential administration, but throughout the West, states are stepping back from prior commitments to official development assistance.
This panel discussion will explore the causes, consequences, and possible responses at this pivotal moment. In the United States, the Trump administration’s policy justifications echo long-standing critiques from within the development sector. In Europe, concerns over migration and security have already changed aid patterns and challenged the idea of a global consensus on sustainable development goals. A frank assessment of successes and failures is necessary to address domestic political divisions over foreign assistance and identify steps by which to serve the needs of the world’s poor.
Programme:
Opening words
Ville Sinkkonen, Leading Researcher, FIIA
Speakers
Patricia Justino, Director Designate, UNU-WIDER
Marikki Karhu, Secretary General, Development Policy Committee
Sarah Stroup, Visiting Senior Fellow, FIIA
Chair
Katariina Mustasilta, Senior Research Fellow, FIIA
Puhujat
Leading Researcher, FIIA
Ville Sinkkonen is Leading Researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, Center on US Politics and Power. His research focuses on US foreign policy, great-power politics, normative power, and the politics of trust in international relations. He holds an LL.D. (International Law) from the University of Turku, where he defended his doctoral dissertation Failing hegemony? Four essays on the global engagement of the United States of America in the 21st Century in December 2020.
Sinkkonen is the chairperson of the Finnish International Studies Association (FISA) and co-editor of the Nordic Review of International Studies (NRIS).
Deputy Director, UNU-Wider
Patricia Justino is Director Designate of United Nations University – WIDER and will begin as director in May 2026. A Portuguese national and internationally respected development economist, Prof. Justino brings over two decades of experience conducting policy-relevant research on inequality, governance and inclusive development. Her research explores how political violence, institutional change and social policy affect long-term development outcomes.
Secretary General, Development Policy Committee
Marikki Karhu has worked as the Secretary General of the Finnish Development Policy Committee since 2014. She serves also as an expert member of Finnish National Commission on Sustainable Development (2016 – ). Before her appointment to the Finnish Development Policy Committee, she worked as a researcher in the European Union research programme at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) and at the Department of Political and Economic Studies (University of Helsinki). Karhu gained her Ph.D. in Development Studies in 2013 and has continued to publish occasionally on EU and Finnish development policies as a part of her post doc studies (e.g. Forum for Development Studies). She has also chaired the Finnish Society for Development Research.
Visiting Senior Fellow, FIIA
Sarah Stroup is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and professor of political science at Middlebury College (USA). Stroup holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), humanitarian relief, democracy promotion, and human rights.
Her briefing paper on the changing global development landscape will be published by FIIA in October and it will be available here.
Senior Research Fellow, FIIA
Katariina Mustasilta is a Senior Research Fellow in the European Union and Strategic Competition programme at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. Her research covers countries’ internal conflicts, the EU’s external action in the realms of conflicts and threats to peace, and international conflict prevention and peace-building efforts. Her publications include academic articles in journals such as the Journal of Peace Research and European Foreign Affairs Review as well as more policy-oriented research reports and briefings.