This book provides a comprehensive search for the basic political drivers of international development cooperation, based on the policy and performance of the OECD countries from the early 1960s to the present. The author focuses on the stated and implemented policies of the four so-called frontrunners and the Western hegemon, scrutinizing the changing trends in the justifications, objectives and guidelines set for the policy and their evolving performance vis-à-vis the international ODA target. Through extensive research, the work examines predominant world-views, societal value systems and foreign policy traditions, in order to find the policy drivers that vary nation to nation and how development assistance has evolved globally. “Olav Stokke is one of Europe's most experienced and respected students of aid. He makes clear in this important book that support for development cooperation can never be taken for granted. Different social, economic and security drivers play out in different ways at different times and in different places. Our challenge now is to identify the drivers that will sustain into the future collective commitment to the common good.” (Simon Maxwell, Former Director Overseas Development Institute; and Chair, European Think Tanks Group, London) “Nobody has spent more time and effort to analyze foreign aid than Olav Stokke. The result is an informative and well-written book for both academic and aid practitioner use.” (Goran Hyden, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Florida, USA) “Olav Stokke, a walking encyclopedia on ODA and the United Nations system, once again manages to share the wealth of his knowledge to the benefit of a wider audience, this time with a focus on the OECD members.” (Henning Melber, President, European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), Germany) This book provides a comprehensive search for the basic political drivers of international development cooperation, based on the policy and performance of the OECD countries from the early 1960s to the present. The author focuses on the stated and implemented policies of the four so-called frontrunners and the Western hegemon, scrutinizing the changing trends in the justifications, objectives and guidelines set for the policy and their evolving performance vis-à-vis the international ODA target. Through extensive research, the work examines predominant world-views, societal value systems and foreign policy traditions, in order to find the policy drivers that vary nation to nation and how development assistance has evolved globally. Olav Stokke is Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Norway. He is the author of The UN and Development (2009) This is a substantial and welcome addition to the numerous works … by Olav Stokke. … The four long chapters on the frontrunners are very well written and informative … . They should be especially useful to professionals and students. Roger Riddell, Oxford Policy Management, Forum for Development Studies (Vol. 46, No. 3, 2019) Olav Stokke is Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Norway. He is the author of The UN and Development (2009).