Is US Humanitarian Aid Based Primarily on Need or Self-Interest?

The United States has made repeated public commitments to provide humanitarian aid based on need alone. However, some scholars suggest that US self-interest is a stronger predictor of US humanitarian assistance than need. We examine the tension between self-interest and need by studying the allocati...

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Publicado en:International Studies Quarterly Vol. 58; no. 4; pp. 839 - 855
Autores principales: Kevlihan, Rob, DeRouen, Karl, Biglaiser, Glen
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Oxford University Press / USA Dec2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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          Kevlihan, Rob
          DeRouen, Karl
          Biglaiser, Glen
        affil:
          Kimmage Development Studies Centre
          The University of Alabama
          University of North Texas
      su:
        Angola
        Sudan
        United States. Agency for International Development. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance
        Disaster relief
        War
        History
        Ethics
        International cooperation
        Social history
        American humanitarian assistance
        National interest
        Foreign relations of the United States, 1989-
        Charts, diagrams, etc.
      sug:
        subj:
          Disaster relief
          War
          History
          Ethics
          International cooperation
          Social history
          Angola
          Sudan
          United States. Agency for International Development. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance
          Emergency and Other Relief Services
          Other Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities
          International Affairs
          American humanitarian assistance
          National interest
          Foreign relations of the United States, 1989-
          Charts, diagrams, etc.
      ab: The United States has made repeated public commitments to provide humanitarian aid based on need alone. However, some scholars suggest that US self-interest is a stronger predictor of US humanitarian assistance than need. We examine the tension between self-interest and need by studying the allocations made by the US Agency for International Development's Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance for more than 100 developing countries between 1989 and 2009. Moving beyond previous studies, we measure need based on both natural (floods, earthquakes, hurricanes) and man-made (conflict related) disasters. Contrary to much previous scholarship, we find need factors shape the decision to provide aid more than US self-interest does. We also find important differences in how much humanitarian assistance is distributed in the pre- and post-9/11 eras, with foreign policy affinity to the United States and battle deaths playing useful roles in how much aid a country receives in the post-9/11 period. The findings generally point to the ongoing importance of need as a driver of humanitarian aid decisions.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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