U.S. Foreign Assistance: Background, Role & Future

Foreign assistance is a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another, given at least partly with the objective of benefiting the recipient country. It may have other functions as well: it may be given as a signal of diplomatic approval, or to strengthen a military ally, to reward a government for behaviour desired by the donor, to extend the donor’s cultural influence, to provide infrastructure needed by the donor for resource extraction from the recipient country, or to gain other kinds of commercial access. This book focuses on how and why foreign assistance programs can be improved and contains many pointed critiques and recommendations for change, while recognising the notable successes in the development and implementation of humanitarian assistance programs.