Bilateral aid to Tajikistan; donor tactics and responses to troubled governance

The amount and form of aid distributed to foreign countries may depend on the contexts and characteristics of the recipient countries. Donors who have aid relations with poorly governed countries, while emphasizing good governance, may have to adjust aid tools to circumvent weak institutional enviro...

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Main Author: Hyejin Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Development Studies Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21665095.2024.2309193
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author Hyejin Lee
author_facet Hyejin Lee
author_sort Hyejin Lee
collection DOAJ
description The amount and form of aid distributed to foreign countries may depend on the contexts and characteristics of the recipient countries. Donors who have aid relations with poorly governed countries, while emphasizing good governance, may have to adjust aid tools to circumvent weak institutional environments. In keeping with the literature on aid in contexts of weak governance, the paper analyses donors’ strategies in Tajikistan – an understudied country with geostrategic importance to traditional donors – showing how bilateral donors provided controlled aid. Donors disbursed aid mainly in the form of projects, a highly controllable aid type. Donors, while clearly interested in Tajik governance, appeared to sidestep politically sensitive areas probably fearing uncalled-for diplomatic frictions with the Tajik leadership. Nonetheless, donors did touch on some politically sensitive issues via non-state channels, enabling them to avoid direct interactions with Tajik authorities. Operating in poorly governed countries can be complicated for bilateral donors: they are accountable to their domestic taxpayers; they have to devise sophisticated aid strategies to achieve aid efficacy, especially in countries also deemed strategically important; and they cannot risk compromising bilateral relations.
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spelling doaj-art-8bb5179d209248d9b4663e7a0b4b8fec2024-12-09T10:24:19ZengTaylor & Francis GroupDevelopment Studies Research2166-50952024-12-0111110.1080/21665095.2024.2309193Bilateral aid to Tajikistan; donor tactics and responses to troubled governanceHyejin Lee0Institute for International Development Cooperation, Konkuk University, Seoul, South KoreaThe amount and form of aid distributed to foreign countries may depend on the contexts and characteristics of the recipient countries. Donors who have aid relations with poorly governed countries, while emphasizing good governance, may have to adjust aid tools to circumvent weak institutional environments. In keeping with the literature on aid in contexts of weak governance, the paper analyses donors’ strategies in Tajikistan – an understudied country with geostrategic importance to traditional donors – showing how bilateral donors provided controlled aid. Donors disbursed aid mainly in the form of projects, a highly controllable aid type. Donors, while clearly interested in Tajik governance, appeared to sidestep politically sensitive areas probably fearing uncalled-for diplomatic frictions with the Tajik leadership. Nonetheless, donors did touch on some politically sensitive issues via non-state channels, enabling them to avoid direct interactions with Tajik authorities. Operating in poorly governed countries can be complicated for bilateral donors: they are accountable to their domestic taxpayers; they have to devise sophisticated aid strategies to achieve aid efficacy, especially in countries also deemed strategically important; and they cannot risk compromising bilateral relations.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21665095.2024.2309193Aid capturecorruptionforeign aidgovernanceTajikistan
spellingShingle Hyejin Lee
Bilateral aid to Tajikistan; donor tactics and responses to troubled governance
Development Studies Research
Aid capture
corruption
foreign aid
governance
Tajikistan
title Bilateral aid to Tajikistan; donor tactics and responses to troubled governance
title_full Bilateral aid to Tajikistan; donor tactics and responses to troubled governance
title_fullStr Bilateral aid to Tajikistan; donor tactics and responses to troubled governance
title_full_unstemmed Bilateral aid to Tajikistan; donor tactics and responses to troubled governance
title_short Bilateral aid to Tajikistan; donor tactics and responses to troubled governance
title_sort bilateral aid to tajikistan donor tactics and responses to troubled governance
topic Aid capture
corruption
foreign aid
governance
Tajikistan
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21665095.2024.2309193
work_keys_str_mv AT hyejinlee bilateralaidtotajikistandonortacticsandresponsestotroubledgovernance