I would like to thank Lara Hammersen for her research assistance; Cornelia Hornschild, Robert Furlong and Michaela Keiser for support during the publication process; as well as Anita Amorim, Steffen Bauer, Max-Otto Baumann, Nilima Gulrajani, Christine Hackenesch, Anna-Katharina Hornidge, Heiner Janus, Niels Keijzer, Stephan Klingebiel, Mao Ruipeng, Laura Trajber Waisbich and Silke Weinlich for comments and suggestions on the presentation of key findings and earlier drafts of this paper. I am also grateful to former colleagues, experts and officials who agreed to be interviewed or were ready to engage in detailed conversations, including Ama Brandford-Arthur, Carlos Correa, Debel Gutta, Alain Kanyinda, Nadine Piefer-Söyler and Nicolas Randin. Throughout the research and drafting process that unfolded against the backdrop of pandemic-related lockdowns, the Inter-and Transnational Cooperation programme at the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) provided a stable and encouraging research environment.