Not So Great Expectations
What Foreign Aid Can and Can't Do In the Arab World
Article Summary and Author Biography
Earlier this year, the Obama administration requested that Congress establish a $770 million Middle East and North Africa Incentive Fund to “support citizens who have demanded change.” If the results of similar efforts in Pakistan are any guide, however, Washington shouldn't expect much political leverage in return for its investments.
NANCY BIRDSALL is founding president of the Center for Global Development. MILAN VAISHNAV is an associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development. DANNY CUTHERELL is a policy analyst at the Center for Global Development.
A sign on the wall at the American University in Cairo. (Hossam el-Hamalawy / flickr)
Shortly after assuming the presidency, Barack Obama set his sights on reorienting the United States' relationship with Pakistan. For decades, Washington had been a fair-weather friend to Islamabad, eager to work together when its own security interests were at stake, but otherwise indifferent to Pakistan's domestic challenges. But recognizing that the fates of South Asia and, ultimately, U.S. security are inextricably linked with Pakistan's stability and prosperity, Obama signed into law the Enhanced Partnership for Pakistan Act (the Kerry-Lugar-Berman bill) just a few months into his first term. The bill authorized up to $7.5 billion in aid to Pakistan's civilian government over five years and was meant to usher in a new era of partnership and bolster democracy...
