Why do theories matter? The Czech scholarships programme for students from developing countries examined through different theoretical lenses

Abstract Theoretical understanding of development-oriented international scholarships programmes becomes critical for their planning, implementation and evaluation. This article thus firstly overviews different theories thorough which these programmes can be comprehended and identifies their focal parameters. These parameters are then examined empirically on a case study of the Czech international scholarship programme for students from developing countries. The analysis draws on quantitative and qualitative data collated earlier for its two subsequent external evaluations covering the period 2008–2017. We found substantial deficiencies with respect to the programme’s declared goals linked to the reasoning behind the human capital model, the rights-based approach and the soft-power perspective. By contrast, the programme seems to work comparatively well when assessed from the perspective of the capability approach, even though this rationale did not resonate in the programme’s strategy. Historical institutionalism and the garbage can model provide useful frameworks for explaining policymaking behind the Czech programme and the identified conflicts between the declared goals and the actual performance.