Foreign Aid

The Avoidable Death of Afghan Democracy

Elections could be the country's undoing. Or, it could be a good start for much-needed reform.

BY GERARD RUSSELL | NOVEMBER 4, 2009

Why Are the United States and Israel at the Top of Human Rights Hit Lists?

We ran the numbers and it's true: the watchdogs have their politics. But that might just be a good thing.

BY JAMES RON, HOWARD RAMOS | NOVEMBER 3, 2009

Terrorizing Aid to Somalia

The United States is willfully letting millions of Somalis go hungry in its drive to hunt down terrorists.

BY NATALIE PARKE | OCTOBER 30, 2009

Trading With Kim

The way to Kim Jong Il’s heart is through his market.

BY SUSAN SHIRK, JOHN DELURY | OCTOBER 29, 2009

How Microfinance Changes the Lives of Millions

One person at a time.

BY SHWETA S. BANERJEE | OCTOBER 26, 2009

Call in the Civilians

Counterinsurgency is at least 50 percent civilian. So where have all the Foreign Service officers gone?

BY RON CAPPS | OCTOBER 26, 2009

Iran's Enemy Is Not America's Friend

Why supporting the terrorists who are trying to take down the Revolutionary Guard will only come back to haunt us.

BY JAMSHEED K. CHOKSY | OCTOBER 20, 2009

Sudan Score Card

The Obama administration's policy review on Sudan is now complete. Is it any good?

BY JOHN NORRIS | OCTOBER 19, 2009

A Recipe for Somalia

A light footprint won’t work in Afghanistan. Just look at the Horn of Africa for all the reasons why not.

BY RICHARD BENNET | OCTOBER 13, 2009

Lessons in Disaster

Why is the Obama administration reading up on its Vietnam history?

BY GORDON M. GOLDSTEIN | OCTOBER 6, 2009

Courting Disaster in Honduras

When Zelaya came back, he rendered all things uncertain except one: The crisis is moving from the negotiating tables to the streets.

BY KEVIN CASAS-ZAMORA | SEPTEMBER 23, 2009

How to Save Lives by Breaking All the Rules

How former U.S. Global AIDS coordinator Mark Dybul ditched the bureaucracy, stopped intergovernmental turf wars, pushed for results, and helped create an anti-poverty machine that actually works.

BY MARK DYBUL | SEPTEMBER 22, 2009

Arming Somalia

The United States sent RPGs, machine guns, mortars, and -- in the words of one U.S. official -- "cash in a brown paper bag" to Somalia last spring. Foreign Policy reports on how the shipments took place, and who's not happy about it.

BY ELIZABETH DICKINSON | SEPTEMBER 10, 2009

No Exit?

Despite a valiant start, impoverished, oil-rich Chad has succumbed to the resource curse. But it's not too late to escape.

BY LOUISE ARBOUR | SEPTEMBER 4, 2009

Strategic Communication: Getting Back to Basics

Writing in Joint Force Quarterly, Adm. Michael G. Mullen critiques the U.S. government's approach to winning hearts and minds.

BY MICHAEL G. MULLEN | AUGUST 28, 2009

Resource Cursed

Equatorial Guinea is perhaps the world's most striking example of why oil hurts, rather than helps, many of the countries that have it. Will the Obama administration stop the country's dictator from sucking its people dry?

BY TUTU ALICANTE, LISA MISOL | AUGUST 26, 2009

A Bright Shining Slogan

How "hearts and minds" came to be.

BY ELIZABETH DICKINSON | SEPT. / OCT. 2009

Think Again: A Marshall Plan for Africa

America brought Europe back to life a half-century ago. Why not give Africa the same chance?

BY GLENN HUBBARD | AUGUST 13, 2009

How America Is Funding Corruption in Pakistan

Graft is on the rise in Islamabad, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer.

BY AZEEM IBRAHIM | AUGUST 11, 2009

Somalia: Too Big a Problem to Fail?

A new hotbed of terror could be a domestic problem for Obama. But he shouldn't treat it like one.

BY KEN MENKHAUS | AUGUST 6, 2009

Think Again: Africa's Crisis

As U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads to Africa, the continent is in far better shape than most experts think.

BY CHARLES KENNY | JULY 31, 2009

A Sea Change in Food Aid?

World leaders are promising radical changes for food aid to the poorest countries. But can they deliver?

BY SIMON NICHOLSON | JULY 23, 2009

Brazil's Blessing in Disguise

How Lula turned an HIV crisis into a geopolitical opportunity.

BY EDUARDO J. GÓMEZ | JULY 22, 2009

Planning for the Worst in Honduras

Dark clouds are gathering over negotiations on the country's future.

BY MICHAEL SHIFTER | JULY 21, 2009

Aiding the Future

Does U.S. foreign assistance really work?

BY MICHAEL WILKERSON | JULY 20, 2009

Our Reply to Obama

Now that the U.S. president has offered Africa his advice, here's our riposte for him.

BY O. NATTY B. DAVIS | JULY 16, 2009

Obama's Trash Talk

Stop telling Africa what to do. Lectures are part of the problem.

BY ANDREW M. MWENDA | JULY 15, 2009

The Best Worst Country in Africa

Take note, Obama: Ghana's gains are great -- but by no means irreversible.

BY E. GYIMAH-BOADI | JULY 10, 2009

Seven Questions: José Ramos-Horta

East Timor's Nobel Prize-winning president asks, just who is the failed state here?

BY SIMON ROUGHNEEN | JULY 9, 2009

Food Fight

CARE president Helene Gayle says Eric Werker is aiming at the wrong target in his critique of foreign aid.

JANUARY 5, 2009