Aid and Development Archive

The recent rocket attack on a convoy carrying British embassy staff in the Yemeni capital of San’a raises important questions about security and terrorism in that Gulf country. The United States is currently proposing to allocate $1.2 billion of military equipment and training over the next six years to combat al-Qaida in Yemen. In response, critics both within and beyond government circles are calling for a more holistic approach that focuses on long-term economic development and stability there and in the wider Middle East region. Presently lacking in this debate is the understanding that security and development are not mutually […]

The United States and Europe are pressuring oil-rich members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GGC) to forge closer ties with Yemen in a bid to link the fight against al-Qaida to tangible economic benefits for the Arab world’s poorest nation. U.S. officials say the Obama administration recently conveyed to GCC leaders Yemen’s reiteration of its 10-year-old request for GCC membership. The officials believe that U.S. and European endorsement of the request will prompt GCC leaders to respond more favorably when they meet in Abu Dhabi in December. The U.S. and Europe are exerting pressure against the backdrop of an increasing […]

In the first light of dawn on New Year’s Day 1994, indigenous campesinos wearing ski masks and toting assault weapons stormed major towns in the southeastern Mexican state of Chiapas. By midday, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN, in Spanish) had introduced itself to the world as the new face of social revolution. The nature of this face — or more accurately, the lack thereof — immediately distinguished the movement. Black balaclavas, worn at all times in public, along with the rugged attire of the indigenous population, captivated the lenses of the world’s media. So did the eloquent dispatches […]

Editor’s note: This article is the second in a two-part series. Part one focused on assistance to rape victims and educational efforts for everyday Congolese. Part two looks at efforts to reform the groups responsible for rape in Congo. KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — A team of U.S. Army medical personnel arrived in this crowded capital city the first week of September. For two weeks, the Americans trained alongside 300 members of the Congolese army. The goal of the exercise? “To increase interoperability with Congolese forces . . . and give them the opportunity to learn from us,” Lt. […]

Editor’s note: This article is the first in a two-part series. Part I focuses on assistance to rape victims and educational efforts for everyday Congolese. Part II, which will appear tomorrow, looks at efforts to reform the groups responsible for rape in Congo. DUNGU, Democratic Republic of Congo — Two years ago in this remote territory, a young woman named Dina and three others — another woman and two men — fled a camp belonging to the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group. The LRA had kidnapped the four months earlier: the men as laborers or fighters, the women as sex […]

America’s top African diplomat recently signaled Washington’s desire to establish more official contacts with the autonomous region of Somaliland, which sits within the internationally recognized borders of the failed state known as Somalia. Meanwhile, both our Agency for International Development and the Pentagon’s recently established Africa Command worry about Sudan’s upcoming vote on formally splitting the country in two. For a country that has sworn off nation-building, it’s interesting to see just how hard it is for America to remain on the sidelines while globalization remaps so much of the developing world. Not that globalization causes changes that otherwise would […]

For almost 20 years, Indian development has been guided by the “Look East” policy, based on the premise that Asia holds the key to India’s economic and strategic future. The recent state visits by Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil to Laos and Cambodia, which yielded Indian offers of trade initiatives and cash loans, have demonstrated that, for New Delhi, an eastern orientation is still promising. Shifting its gaze northward, however, tends to leave India blinking uncomfortably in China’s reflected light. Admired but also feared, emulated but also repudiated, China can spoil the appeal of Asia’s opportunities for India. Economic ties […]