With hardening authoritarianism and state capture by militias exacerbating the challenges faced by providers of development and political aid across the Middle East and North Africa, how can aid be made more effective? Can donors overcome the limitations of their outdated assistance playbooks? Analyzing the fraught relationships between Western aid providers and MENA recipients, the authors of Making Aid Work suggest innovative, practical approaches for overcoming the chronic limitations—and disappointing results—of assistance aimed at encouraging economic development and political reform in the region.
Guilain Denoeux is professor of government at Colby College. R
obert Springborg is nonresident research fellow of the Italian Institute of International Affairs and adjunct professor in the School of International Studies at Simon Fraser University.
Hicham Alaoui is lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, and a member of the Advisory Council of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University.
Also of interest:
How Aid the Aid Industry Works: The Politics and Practice of International Development, 2nd edition by Arjan de Haan and Debating Global Development by Daniel P. L. Chong and Capri Gutiérrez "An astute analysis of the collective failure of assistance providers to promote economic development or advance political reform in the Middle East." —Neil Hicks, Rowaq Arabi
"A penetrating analysis of why traditional development and democracy assistance strategies have struggled to achieve their intended goals in the region.... [Its] central strength lies precisely in its dual contribution as both a rigorous diagnosis of the limitations of the traditional assistance playbook and an elaborate proposal for more realistic donor engagement. The volume delivers a thought-provoking and much-needed rethinking of how to make aid effective in some of the world's most challenging political landscapes." —Antonia Ricciardiello, The International Spectator
"The authors provide a welcome corrective to the grand reconstruction schemes that have so often enriched contractors and warlords while leaving societies hollowed out.... Making Aid Work is one of the most significant contributions to Middle East policy writing in recent years."—Hassam el-Hamalawy, The New Arab
"Fascinating, well documented, and well argued. This book will both prompt and inform a necessary debate about promoting democracy, human rights, and governance in the Middle East."—Jon B. Alterman, Center for Strategic and International Studies
"A rich and important contribution.... With sharp insights into the complex interplay of bureaucratic politics and shifting regional dynamics, the authors critically examine why donor-driven efforts to foster democracy and development in the Middle East have so often fallen short." —Erin A. Snider, Texas A&M University
