Perspectives on Peace: An Examination of Post-Conflict Societies

It seems like it’s becoming a hot topic of discussion and I agree that it’s about time we begin to be more skeptical and analyze critically our means of effort. There was an article a while back from CNN and another recent one from IRIN which tackled this issue of foreign aid also.

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-08-12/opinion/africa.aid.calderisi_1_foreign-aid-government-budgets-african-governments/3?_s=PM:OPINION

http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?Reportid=90942

From CNN, it was more of a criticism on the countries receiving aid. The article mentioned the need to have good public policy, sound economic management, and a strong determination to battle poverty in order for aid to be used effectively. They argued that the bulk of economic resources should be by local efforts and not aid and point out that not all African governments may be on the same wavelengths as Western aid providers.

As for the article from IRIN, it was more of a message for the donors. The NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) criticized the quality of food aid sent by the US for impoverished children. The food sent- which consists of simple sugar carbohydrates, is of ill consideration of the children’s needs- which is protein and vitamins and minerals. There is talk of change with the US food aid policy, where supplements and powdered forms of vitamins and minerals can be incorporated. The problem with valuing quality over quantity though is that cost is higher and therefore less beneficiaries.

A small aside: During our class discussion on the Tamil Tigers and its tainted impression of the Sri Lankan government in respecting basic human rights, I remember we played around with the idea of having an overruling body (e.g. UN) of which the government will be accountable to. I suppose I am bringing up the issue of sovereignty again which Dan presented, but in the context of levels of intervention. Does R2P also concern with aid intervention? What is the extent of which outside communities can intervene before a lasting impression is made upon which the state becomes attached and cannot be self-reliant? Intentional or not, what we do has a ripple effect of us all influencing one another. Essentially, what I’m wondering is how sustainability can be achieved. Aid is meant to be short term. I feel like we are always stuck on giving more and more aid and aren’t concerned as much with long term developments.

Mismanaged food aid has been linked to a number of problems both in the conflict and the post-conflict setting. Dambisa Moyo’s perspective is interesting, it’s a sort of a re-evaluation after a failed experiment in giving aid. There’s plenty of evidence now that the way we have been directing aid to the conflict ridden and developing world is both inefficient and counterproductive. In Somalia, for example, Conor Foley notes in his book ‘The Thin Blue Line’ that “out of the $1.6 billion spent… it is estimated that only 4 per cent reached the people of Somalia and this mostly fell into the hands of the warlords.” (66) Additionally, in terms of fostering dependence, food aid tends to dump subsidized western farm products into a country’s market, pricing local producers out of existence; this has been witnessed in Haiti, Somalia and Sri Lanka. This high unemployment and lack of entrepreneurial opportunity due to crowding out effects creates for a vicious cycle of poverty (rather than the virtuous cycle posited by most aid advocates); and as noted by Collier in this week’s article, risk of conflict is negatively correlated with growth and poverty reduction.

I’m looking forward to discussing the Dambisa Moyo talk and aid in general in tomorrow’s class!

I read the article that you are talking about Sarah….interestingly, another article that MSF (Medecins sans Frontiers) wrote points specifically to Canada for not sending over adequate food aid. Much of the food aid canada has shipped over does not even satisfy basic food nutritional standards and much of it is poorly organized becoming rotten before it gets to the people. Obviously this is a complete lose-lose situation as we continue to spend money on something ineffective and unsustainable while the people who need this food continue to suffer.