Lest you think international development faces a tough political context here in the UK, let’s pause for a moment to check in on the latest thinking on foreign aid over at the right-wing Heritage Foundation in the US:
Countries that receive U.S. foreign aid routinely oppose U.S. diplomatic initiatives and vote against the U.S. in the United Nations.
While linking humanitarian and security aid to support of U.S. policy priorities would undermine the purposes and effect of that aid, the effectiveness of development aid in improving economic growth and development among recipients remains dubious.
Therefore, the U.S. has no compelling reason preventing it from explicitly linking disbursement of development assistance to support for U.S. policy priorities in the United Nations.
QED!
