Foreign aid and democracy in Africa

What is the impact of foreign aid on the democratic trajectories of developing countries?  The United Nations University-World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) has launched a two-year project addressing this question in the most aid-dependent region of the world, sub-Saharan Africa. Initial findings of the project indicate that development aid has a direct impact on facilitating transitions and preventing the erosion of democratic gains. However, democracy assistance exerts a more direct role in furthering consolidation. Moreover, there are also important trade-offs between development aid and democracy assistance that require greater attention within the policy community.

For more information on this project, please see the research page.