The Effects of War and Peace on Foreign Aid - Term Paper Example

EFFECTS The Effects of War and Peace on Foreign Aid Introduction In recent years donor developed nations such as the US have provided massive amounts of foreign aid to less developed countries. Generally this is considered the right thing to do both morally and strategically to encourage the gratitude of the recipients and make them less likely to embrace ideologies such as ISIS hostile to the donor. Before a state donates I suggest its’ leaders consider carefully what goals it wishes o accomplish with their donation and assess critically the prospects for accomplishing these goals. For example aid may be siphoned off by an elite and not reach the intended beneficiaries, or it may not be the best way to help the recipients develop their own resources. Or the provision of aid may have unintended adverse consequences. For example Rwanda has received considerable foreign aid and although by some criteria it has benefited from this aid, much of the population has not profited. In fact it has helped perpetuate and even exacerbate sectarian inequalities which could easily bring a return to the civil war and genocide of 1994. Positive and Negative Effects that Peace and War have on Distribution of Foreign Aid While there is no longer a genocide or overt civil war in Rwanda it can by no means be described as a peaceful country. Hostility and distrust continue to prevail between the ruling minority urban Tutsis and the majority impoverished rural Hutu. And overt civil war could break out at any time long after the 1994 genocide. Thus although Rwanda has received a massive infusion of foreign aid this has disproportionately benefited the elite Tutsis. On the positive side Rwanda is the only country in sub-Saharan Africa on track to meet all health related UN goals including reducing under5 mortality by two thirds. Also since 1994 per capita income has almost tripled and GDP quadrupled.( Farmer 2013) However these positive statistics hide significant disparities in ethnic aid beneficiaries. More than half of the aid received is distributed through Tutsi dominated government institutions so that it benefits mostly already comparatively better off Tutsis rather than the impoverished Hutus ( Farmer 2013)) Thus even though statistics indicate overall per capita income and GDP have risen rural Hutus who make up 84% of the population remain impoverished, (Endless and Hakizimana 2009). This high sectarian income disparity is fostered by policies of the Tutsi dominated government such as under funding of agriculture primarily a Hutu activity, provision of assistance only to Tutsi genocide survivors and although Rwanda historically has been primarily a French speaking country banning it’s use in schools and making English the official language thereby limiting opportunities for largely French speaking Hutus. (Endless and Hakizimana 200) This and other discriminatory policies by the Tutsi dominated government have fostered a climate of continued distrust and hostility which could easily result in the break out of another civil war. Only the promotion of a true and enduring peace by more inclusive government policies such as extending educational and agricultural assistance as well as allowing aid to be distributed directly to Hutu populations will bring about the most productive use of foreign aid in increasing Rwanda’s economic and social well being as a whole. Actions of Rwanda’s Leadership in the Use of Foreign Aid Rwanda’s current president, Paul Kagame, came to power after the 1994 genocide of the country’s Hutu majority against the Tutsi minority. The US because of a sense of guilt for not intervening quickly to stop the bloodshed has poured enormous aid to the Kagame regime (French 2015). Not as well known ( because the UN never released the report of its’ investigation) is the retaliatory slaughter of Hutus by Kagame’s Tutsi army. He also consolidated his power by jailing and exiling independent journalists and eliminating sources of opposition. While the internal violence may have slowed with tacit US support Kagame launched wars against neighboring Zaire allegedly because the Hutu attacks were launched from this country. (French 2014) Even though the killing may have slowed recently it is evident that his hostility toward the majority Hutus has not diminished as evidenced by his refusal to share the foreign aid he has received with this population. Recently a UN report has found that Rwanda has attempted to destabilize Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) by using aid money (almost 50% of Rwanda’s budget ) to fund rebel military actions in the DRC (Murphy 2013) When this was discovered the international community including the US suspended much of its’ aid forcing Kagame to cease his DRC adventures. It should be noted that aid money used for these military operations should have been better utilized in my opinion for domestic peaceful purposes especially helping the Hutus. As it is unlikely that Kagame will soften his evident hostility towards the Hutu his leadership will probably exacerbate rather than reduce the probability of further warfare. Therefore donor nations and independent charity organizations have made a wise choice in channeling as much as possible aid through non government actors rather than the Kagame regime, Whether Extension of Foreign Aid has Reduced Poverty and Warfare In the case of Rwanda the extension of foreign aid has reduced poverty to some extent but primarily amongst the minority Tutsis. The majority Hutus largely remain impoverished.. As for warfare while for the present it has stopped sectarian genocide internal and external enduring peace does not appear to be assured. The governing Tutsis with their power and repressive tactics seem to be able to deter attacks, but this does not mean that civil war cannot break out at some point .Also while suspension of aid has deterred Kagane’s efforts to destabilize the DRC for now there is no guarantee he will not eventually resume under some pretext Thus at best Rwanda has had mixed success in reducing poverty and warfare and in some cases has actually exacerbated these ills. Since it is unlikely Kagame will shed his aversion to helping the Tutsis increase their economic prospects to become more in line with that of the Tutsis or allowing them a meaningful role in Rwanda’s governance I feel considerations for further aid should not be done without a careful assessment of the likely ramifications if need be conditions should be required for its’ receipt. In his article McDoon has suggested 5 principles donor decisions including thinking of the likely long term consequences, adapt donor strategy to the contextual characteristics of Rwanda, agree publicly and contractually on the principles that govern the donor recipient relationship with clear redlines, consult and co-ordinate with other donors and assess whether the overall direction of change improves or worsens the welfare of the people. (McDoom 2013) I agree with these principles but would go even further and use donor leverage to tie aid to strategic humanitarian benefits. For example if Kagame requests aid for a specific project he must be required to also specifically benefit Hutus in some way and if he doesn’t comply aid will cease. Only if donor nations’ vital interests are at stake such as a threatened imminent invasion by ISIS should consideration be given to relaxing donor conditions. In other words I submit aid should continue but be smarter, more strategic and conditional. Conclusion I think it is obvious that Kagame will have to be cajoled to adopt policies that promote the interests of the Hutus so that they become comfortable in Rwanda society and eventually self identify primarily as citizens of Rwanda rather than Hutus. One can only hope that his successor whe4ther Tutsi or Hutu will be more moderate and inclusive and adopt policies in the interests of the citizens of Rwanda as a whole. References 1) Endless, Brian PhD. Loyola University Chicago and Makizimana Emmanuel PhD Universite du Quebec a Montreal. (2009) in collaboration with Hotel Rwanda Rusesahagina Foundation “Rwanda Today When Foreign Aid Hurts More Than It Helps” retrieved from foundatiom.org/wp_content/uploads//RwandaTodayForeignAidpdf. 2) Farmer, Paul (2013) “Rethinking Foreign Aid” Foreign Affairs retrieved from http//www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/40495//paul-farmer/rethinking-foreign-aid.. 3) French, Howard (2014) “How Rwanda’s Paul Kagame Exploits US Guilt” The Wall Street Journal retrieved from http.//omline.wsj.com/articles.. 4) McDoom, Omar S. (2013) “To Aid or Not to Aid the Case of Rwanda” United Nations University retrieved from http.//www.unu.edu/publications/articles/to-aid-or-not-t-aid-the-caseof-rwanda.htm/ 5) Murphy, Tom (2013) “Why Blair and Buffet are wrong about giving international aid to Rwanda” the guardian retrieved from http.//www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr12/Rwanda-kagame-blair-aid. . Read More