The European Union as a Collective Actor: Aid and Trade in African Public Opinion

Perceptions of the impact and effectiveness of development aid are used to assess whether the EU is viewed as a collective actor in foreign aid policy. Using Afrobarometer data, we explore the image of the EU in Africa relative to that of France, Britain, the US and China. We compare these results with the effects of trade and investment relationships between donor countries and their African counterparts. There are significant differences in the visibility of the major bilateral donors’ activities in sub-Saharan Africa, and foreign aid has a positive impact on public opinion about the EU. The EU has partially overcome its collective action dilemma and has come to be perceived as a foreign aid actor in its own right.