While foreign assistance can sometimes assist in promoting economic growth and development, far more important are a country's economic policies, the rule of law, and good governance. Rather than focusing on the level of aid, America should focus its efforts on encouraging developing countries to adopt policies conducive to economic growth and development.
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The current U.N. development system promises too much and demands too little of its member governments. Its autocracy, secrecy, bureaucracy, and self-aggrandizement reflect the worst of its members. Read More.
President Obama is hosting the 38th annual G8 summit May 18–19 at Camp David. It is expected to be “a short summit of less than 24 hours, yielding only a five-page communiqué.”[1] The deplorable reality is that in recent years, the credibility and relevance of the G8 summit…
Abstract: The 2012–2013 U.N. regular budget is historic because it marks the end of a decade of unprecedented growth of the U.N. budget. However, the U.N. budget process suggests that this will likely be an aberration and that irresponsible budget growth will resume shortly.…
Since the establishment of the African Union (AU) in 2002, the United States has provided millions in taxpayer dollars to support the organization and its activities. Regrettably, the AU makes it impossible to determine the success of this effort. The AU does not publish an annual report on its activities,…
Egypt’s transitional military regime threw down a direct challenge to the Obama Administration on Monday when government prosecutors announced that 43 people, including 19 Americans, will stand trial for allegedly interfering in Egypt’s internal politics. Egyptian officials claim that they illegally funded political groups in Egypt’s parliamentary elections, while the…
From The Heritage Foundation, I'm Ernest Istook. …
Peter Brookes discusses US aid money going to the Middle East. …
The United Nations General Assembly held a high-level meeting on September 22 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action at the 2001 United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. The Durban commemoration (also called Durban III)…
The effectiveness of the Administration’s “new era of engagement”[1] to build goodwill toward the U.S. at the U.N. based upon mutual respect and cooperation will be tested this week when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas formally requests U.N. membership for the Palestinian delegation. Despite…
My name is James Phillips, and I am the Senior Research Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at The Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are my own and should not be construed as representing any official position of The Heritage Foundation. Since…
The source and amounts of all U.S. funding to the myriad number of organizations affiliated with the United Nations are difficult to track accurately. This difficulty prompted Congress to pass legislation requiring the Administration to report annually on U.S. contributions to the U.N. A recent report to Congress by the…
The Obama Administration’s long-awaited and inaugural Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), subtitled “Leading Through Civilian Power,” was finally released on December 15, almost a year after it was initially promised. The goal of the QDDR is to provide robust justification to back up President Barack Obama’s pledge to double…
Abstract: Negotiations to sell or otherwise transfer the Robert Moses Playground property in New York City to the United Nations for the construction of a second tower have proceeded quickly over the summer, and a final deal appears…
If Simón Bolívar had returned to Venezuela in 2007 for his 224th birthday, he would have encountered a large man sporting a red shirt named Hugo Chávez exploiting his legacy. Although President Chávez claims to be Bolívar's worthy successor, the Liberator would see red when comparing Chávez's "21st century socialism" with the reality of his regime. …
Abstract: 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…
Abstract: Since 2000 about 95 percent of U.N. member states that receive U.S. assistance have voted against the United States most of the time in the U.N. General Assembly on non-consensus votes. The U.S. should inform aid recipients…
Abstract: Governments and large agribusinesses are increasingly using the environmentalist movement and its policy arm of green nongovernmental organizations to justify imposing protectionist non-tariff barriers on developing countries. Wrong-headed environmental policies and “green” protectionism are contributing to a resurgence of malaria in some countries…
U.S. contributions to the U.N. system reached a record level of $7.692 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2010—a staggering 21 percent increase over FY 2009.[1] This is the third consecutive year in which U.S. contributions set new records. The current budgetary crisis should focus congressional…
This summer, the Horn of Africa confronted its worst drought in decades. Estimates indicate that more than 12 million people across the region are vulnerable to starvation. Somalia, lacking a credible government and beset by internal instability and conflict, has been particularly hard hit, and the United Nations has formally…
The Security Assistance Act of 2011 (Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2012, H.R. 2583), which authorizes appropriations for the State Department for fiscal year (FY) 2012, represents a strong, back-to-basics answer to the Obama Administration’s overly ambitious attempts at redefining U.S. foreign relations. The bill’s aim is to tie…
Senator Tom Coburn’s (R–OK) plan to reduce the federal deficit by $9 trillion over the next 10 years includes cuts to...…
In the midst of Congress’s roaring debate over budget cuts, Assistant Secretary of State Eric Schwartz weighed in last...…
"What’s needed most right now is creating the conditions where assistance is no longer needed." "Let’s move beyond the...…
Heads of state from across the developing world arrived in New York last week for the annual United Nations meetings....…
The United States spent $28.7 billion dollars in 2009 on official development assistance, more than any other country...…
Why is an act from the 1920s hindering a more efficient effort to clean up the Gulf coast? And why are politicians...…
"We were not prepared to make the best use of foreign support. Some foreign governments sought to contribute aid that...…
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group often seen as an exclusive club of rich countries,...…
Back in January, President Obama said that he has no intention of sending U.S. troops into terrorist havens. However,...…
Increasing spending on the State Department and international affairs while freezing discretionary domestic spending is...…
President
Director, Center for International Trade and Economics and the Mark A. Kolokotrones Fellow in Economic Freedom
Research Fellow For Economic Freedom and Growth
Jay Kingham Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs
Senior Policy Analyst