The Politics of US Aid to Pakistan: Aid Allocation and Delivery from Truman to Trump

207 Pages·2019·3.85 MB·English

by  Murad Ali

The Politics of US Aid to Pakistan
This book aims at uncovering the politics behind the provision of US foreign aid
to Pakistan during three distinctive periods: the Cold War, the post-C old War
and the “war on terror”.
Focusing on a comprehensive analysis of aid allocation and delivery mecha-
nisms, this book uncovers the primary factors behind historical as well as con-
temporary US aid to Pakistan so far not thoroughly and empirically studied,
especially in the post- 2001 period of the “war on terror”. Furthermore, based on
findings that have emerged from interviews with over 200 respondents, includ-
ing government officials, representatives of donor aid agencies, the private
sector, civil society organizations and primary beneficiaries of US- funded pro-
jects, this book offers significant insights to researchers, policy- makers and prac-
titioners interested in the discipline of aid and development effectiveness.
Making use of both quantitative and qualitative data and based on extensive
fieldwork and primary data, this book fills a significant gap in the empirical ana-
lysis of US aid to Pakistan. As such, it will be of great interest to students and
scholars of Asian and US politics, as well as to those who have teaching and
research interests in disciplines such as international relations, history, strategic
studies, international political economy and development studies.
Murad Ali obtained his PhD from Massey University (NZ) and is Assistant
Professor at the University of Malakand, Pakistan. In 2016, he became the first
Pakistani to win Germany’s highly competitive Alexander von Humboldt Post-
doctoral Fellowship in Social Sciences.
Routledge Studies in South Asian Politics
10 Localizing Governance in India
Bidyut Chakrabarty
11 Government and Politics in Sri Lanka
Biopolitics and Security
A.R. Sriskanda Rajah
12 Politics and Governance in Bangladesh
Uncertain Landscapes
Edited by Ipshita Basu, Joe Devine and Geoffrey Wood
13 Constitutional Democracy in India
Bidyut Chakrabarty
14 Radical Politics and Governance in India’s North East
The Case of Tripura
Harihar Bhattacharyya
15 The Security State in Pakistan
Legal Foundations
Syed Raza
16 The Socio- political Ideas of BR Ambedkar
Liberal Constitutionalism in a Creative Mould
Bidyut Chakrabarty
17 The Politics of US Aid to Pakistan
Aid Allocation and Delivery from Truman to Trump
Murad Ali
For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/asian
studies/series/RSSAP
The Politics of US Aid to
Pakistan
Aid Allocation and Delivery from
Truman to Trump
Murad Ali
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Murad Ali
The right of Murad Ali to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-i n-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-0-367-15073-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-05482-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
Dedicated to all victims of terrorism in Afghanistan, Pakistan,
the US and elsewhere around the world

Contents
List of figures x
List of tables xi
Acknowledgements xii
List of abbreviations xiv
1 Introduction: why a book on US–Pakistan aid relationship? 1
What is development aid? 2
Origin and evolution of international aid 3
The allocation and delivery of US aid to Pakistan and the rationale
and significance of this book 7
Research questions 9
Research methodology and fieldwork in Pakistan 10
Qualitative data: case study approach and USAID in Pakistan 11
Structure of the book 13
2 An analysis of US foreign aid policies towards Pakistan,
from Truman to Trump 20
Pakistan: a geographic and socio-e conomic profile 20
Pakistan’s internal and external challenges for development and
the policy of looking outwards 25
US–Pakistan aid relationship in the framework of recipients’ needs
versus donors’ interests 28
Political security and geo-s trategic factors and the US aid
allocation 30
The early years of the Cold War and US aid to Pakistan 31
Pakistan–India wars of 1965 and 1971: a dent in US–Pakistan
ties 33
The year 1979: the fall of the Shah of Iran, the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan and US aid to Pakistan 36
viii Contents
Collapse of the USSR and US foreign aid to Pakistan 39
The post- 9/11 period of the “war on terror” and US aid
allocation 40
Recurring rifts in the alliance: US aid from Kerry–Lugar through
Raymond Davis and Osama bin Laden to Mike Mullen and
Trump 44
Current status of US–Pakistan ties 53
Conclusions 56
3 The 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, a new aid
paradigm and Pakistan: an overview 65
The origins and emergence of the PD 65
The 2005 Paris Declaration commitments 70
The global aid-e ffectiveness agenda: did the quality of aid improve
and did signatories achieve the PD targets? 77
The Paris Declaration and Pakistan’s development policies 79
Other practical initiatives of the GoP in the PD framework 87
Conclusions 92
4 The delivery and utilization of US aid in Pakistan and the
aid- effectiveness principles 98
Role of the GoP and donors in development projects: an
overview 98
The PD principles and USAID practices in Pakistan: rhetoric and
reality, policy and practice 100
Alignment of USAID projects with the GoP 109
The element of harmonization and USAID in Pakistan 120
USAID and its development impact: managing for results 128
USAID and the GoP: the concept of mutual accountability 133
The role of USAID in post- disaster post- conflict situations in
Pakistan 137
Conclusions 146
5 Discussion and conclusion: an assessment of US aid
allocation and delivery to Pakistan 154
The US–Pakistan alliance during the Cold War and its
implications 154
Repercussions of the contemporary US–Pakistan alliance 156
US drone strikes inside Pakistani territory and their impact on
public perceptions 161
Contents ix
US aid to Pakistan and its role in strengthening/weakening
democracy 162
Are Democrats better friends of Pakistan or Republicans? An
assessment of US aid to Pakistan during their respective
tenures 164
The allocation of US aid: what does this book contribute? 165
The aid- effectiveness discourse, GoP and USAID: has the
paradigm shift occurred? 166
Where to from here? Policy recommendations for enhancing aid
effectiveness 168
Limitations of this research 173
Future research 173
Conclusions 175
Appendix I: chronology of key developments in the history of aid 179
Appendix II: US economic and military aid and arms’ sales to
Pakistan 182
Appendix III: chronology of major events affecting US–Pakistan
bilateral aid relationship 184
Index 186