Articles

Below are several articles on development happenings, issues, etc. If you have comments on them, please share them with us in the  Forum. If you have articles that you believe would be of general interest to the UAA membership, please submit them here.

  • New! President Obama Makes the Case for Foreign Aid - Video clip. During a Google+ “hangout,”  President Obama explains the strategic role of American foreign assistance, calling out the national security, economic, and humanitarian importance of U.S. international affairs programs.
  • New! Foreign Aid – It’s What We Americans Do - This is a pro-foreign aid public service message. Its source is not attributed. You’ll love it anyway.
  • New! The Big Push Back (The Economist Dec 12, 2011) Could Jeff Sachs possibly be wrong?! What heresy! Read all about it!
  • Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation-This declaration for the first time establishes an agreed framework for development cooperation that embraces traditional donors, South-South cooperators, the BRICs, CSOs and private funders. This marks a turning point for international development cooperation.
  •  America Really Was That Great - (Foreign Policy Nov. 2011) Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum ask: Is America still exceptional? The question not only has become a contentious issue in American politics, it also affects the stability and prosperity of the entire world.
  • USAID Is Foreign Policy’s Best Dollar Value - From Politico, four former USAID administrators explore the many benefits that have resulted from the United States’ relatively low investment in international development.
  • Bill Gates’ Plan to Assist the World’s Poor - A Washington Post op ed piece by the Microsoft board chair makes the strategic case for the importance of foreign aid. To read Gates’ full report to the G20, click here.
  • The Shape of U.S. Global Development Reforms – This Brookings policy brief highlights those reforms that are under way, those that are not and those that are still missing from the agenda. It also offers specific recommendations to the Obama administration
  • MFAN Statement: Gutting USAID’s Operating Budget Would Repeat Painful Mistakes of the Past – The House of Representatives has proposed to cut nearly 27% from USAID’s operating budget for fiscal year 2012. Such a drastic cut would cripple the Agency’s ongoing and aggressive internal reform effort.
  • New Sources of Aid – Charity begins abroad. Big developing countries, such as India and Brazil, are becoming donors. (The Economist, August 11, 2011)
  • Aid and Extremism – Giving aid to poor people is good in and of itself. But if we’ve been doing that to prevent them from becoming Islamic fundamentalists, then a new study suggests we’ve been aiming at the wrong target.
  • Fortress Embassies – Designing buildings for America’s diplomats is getting ever trickier. (The Economist, July 30, 2011)
  • The War on Soft Power – Joseph Nye, Foreign Policy, April 12, 2011. Even the U.S military does not want to cut the State Department and foreign aid budgets.