IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v168y2023ics0305750x23000827.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The flag and the stick: Aid suspensions, human rights, and the problem of the complicit public

Author

Listed:
  • Dasandi, Niheer
  • Erez, Lior

Abstract

Foreign aid donors often use, or are expected to use, the threat of aid suspensions in response to human rights violations. The use of such conditionality seeks to pressure the ‘recipient’ government into ending or preventing rights abuses. This article argues that this approach tacitly relies on the assumption that most citizens in the recipient country oppose their government’s rights violations. However, in recent years, and particularly linked to the rise of populism, there has been growing recognition of instances around the world in which significant parts of the public support government actions giving rise to human rights violations. Drawing in particular on the example of donor responses to recent efforts to introduce repressive anti-homosexuality legislation in Uganda, the article argues that such cases present donors with a dilemma that arises because the threat of aid suspensions serves two distinct but related purposes: an instrumental function (‘the stick’), whereby the threat of withdrawing aid is used to pressure the ‘recipient’ government into ending the rights violation; and an expressive function (‘the flag’) that is often overlooked, whereby conditionality signals the donor government’s commitment to international human rights norms. While typically these two functions of aid conditionality reinforce one another, we show that when faced with a ‘complicit public’, the stick and flag come apart, generating the dilemma for donors. The threat of aid sanctions is likely to trigger a public backlash but refraining from effective criticism will undermine support for international human rights norms. Based on this analysis, the article provides a framework for recognizing and evaluating potential responses to this dilemma that considers the salient political and ethical features of such contexts. In doing so, it demonstrates the importance of understanding the political ethics of aid suspensions and other donor responses to human rights violations.

Suggested Citation

  • Dasandi, Niheer & Erez, Lior, 2023. "The flag and the stick: Aid suspensions, human rights, and the problem of the complicit public," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:168:y:2023:i:c:s0305750x23000827
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106264
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X23000827
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106264?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dupuy, Kendra & Ron, James & Prakash, Aseem, 2016. "Hands Off My Regime! Governments’ Restrictions on Foreign Aid to Non-Governmental Organizations in Poor and Middle-Income Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 299-311.
    2. Dani Rodrik & Arvind Subramanian & Francesco Trebbi, 2004. "Institutions Rule: The Primacy of Institutions Over Geography and Integration in Economic Development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 131-165, June.
    3. Molenaers, Nadia & Dellepiane, Sebastian & Faust, Jorg, 2015. "Political Conditionality and Foreign Aid," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 2-12.
    4. Johanne Døhlie Saltnes & Markus Thiel, 2021. "The Politicization of LGBTI Human Rights Norms in the EU‐Uganda Development Partnership," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 108-125, January.
    5. Haley J. Swedlund, 2017. "Can foreign aid donors credibly threaten to suspend aid? Evidence from a cross-national survey of donor officials," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 454-496, May.
    6. Mustapha Douch & Huw Edwards & Todd Landman & Sushanta Mallick, 2022. "Aid Effectiveness: Human Rights as a Conditionality Measure," Bank of Lithuania Working Paper Series 104, Bank of Lithuania.
    7. Yonatan Lupu & Geoffrey P. R. Wallace, 2019. "Violence, Nonviolence, and the Effects of International Human Rights Law," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 63(2), pages 411-426, April.
    8. Nili, Shmuel, 2016. "Liberal Integrity and Foreign Entanglement," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 110(1), pages 148-159, February.
    9. Hafner-Burton, Emilie M., 2008. "Sticks and Stones: Naming and Shaming the Human Rights Enforcement Problem," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 62(4), pages 689-716, October.
    10. de Felice, Damiano, 2015. "Diverging Visions on Political Conditionality: The Role of Domestic Politics and International Socialization in French and British Aid," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 26-45.
    11. Daryl Glaser, 1997. "South Africa and the limits of civil society," Journal of Southern African Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 5-25.
    12. Koch, Svea, 2015. "A Typology of Political Conditionality Beyond Aid: Conceptual Horizons Based on Lessons from the European Union," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 97-108.
    13. Justin Esarey & Jacqueline H. R. DeMeritt, 2017. "Political Context and the Consequences of Naming and Shaming for Human Rights Abuse," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(4), pages 589-618, July.
    14. Banks, Nicola & Hulme, David & Edwards, Michael, 2015. "NGOs, States, and Donors Revisited: Still Too Close for Comfort?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 707-718.
    15. Tom Goodfellow, 2014. "Legal Manoeuvres and Violence: Law Making, Protest and Semi-Authoritarianism in Uganda," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 45(4), pages 753-776, July.
    16. Eric Neumayer, 2003. "Do Human Rights Matter in Bilateral Aid Allocation? A Quantitative Analysis of 21 Donor Countries," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 84(3), pages 650-666, September.
    17. Heinrich, Tobias & Kobayashi, Yoshiharu, 2020. "How Do People Evaluate Foreign Aid To ‘Nasty’ Regimes?," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(1), pages 103-127, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cheeseman, Nic & Swedlund, Haley J. & O'Brien-Udry, Cleo, 2024. "Foreign aid withdrawals and suspensions: Why, when and are they effective?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Corwin, Hillary, 2023. "Coercive and catalytic strategies for human rights promotion: State violence and foreign assistance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    2. Cheeseman, Nic & Swedlund, Haley J. & O'Brien-Udry, Cleo, 2024. "Foreign aid withdrawals and suspensions: Why, when and are they effective?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    3. Bimal Adhikari & Jeffrey King & Lie Philip Santoso, 2024. "The limits of shame: UN shaming, NGO repression, and women's protests," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 41(3), pages 197-217, May.
    4. Reinsberg, Bernhard, 2015. "Foreign Aid Responses to Political Liberalization," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 46-61.
    5. Broich, Tobias, 2017. "Do authoritarian regimes receive more Chinese development finance than democratic ones? Empirical evidence for Africa," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 180-207.
    6. Suzuki, Mao, 2020. "Profits before patients? Analyzing donors’ economic motives for foreign aid in the health sector," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    7. Broich, Tobias, 2017. "Do authoritarian regimes receive more Chinese development finance than democratic ones? Empirical evidence for Africa," MERIT Working Papers 2017-011, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    8. Hackenesch, Christine, 2015. "It’s Domestic Politics, Stupid! EU Democracy Promotion Strategies Meet African Dominant Party Regimes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 85-96.
    9. Thilo Bodenstein & Jörg Faust, 2017. "Who Cares? European Public Opinion on Foreign Aid and Political Conditionality," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(5), pages 955-973, September.
    10. Bournakis, Ioannis & Rizov, Marian & Christopoulos, Dimitris, 2023. "Revisiting the effect of institutions on the economic performance of SSA countries: Do legal origins matter in the context of ethnic heterogeneity?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    11. Alisa Moldavanova & Tamaki Onishi & Stefan Toepler, 2023. "Civil society and democratization: The role of service‐providing organizations amid closing civic spaces," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(1), pages 3-13, February.
    12. Molenaers, Nadia & Dellepiane, Sebastian & Faust, Jorg, 2015. "Political Conditionality and Foreign Aid," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 2-12.
    13. Del Biondo, Karen, 2015. "Donor Interests or Developmental Performance? Explaining Sanctions in EU Democracy Promotion in sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 74-84.
    14. de Felice, Damiano, 2015. "Diverging Visions on Political Conditionality: The Role of Domestic Politics and International Socialization in French and British Aid," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 26-45.
    15. Portela, Clara & Mora-Sanguinetti, Juan S., 2023. "Sanctions effectiveness, development and regime type. Are aid suspensions and economic sanctions alike?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    16. Koch, Svea, 2015. "A Typology of Political Conditionality Beyond Aid: Conceptual Horizons Based on Lessons from the European Union," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 97-108.
    17. Daniela Donno & Michael Neureiter, 2018. "Can human rights conditionality reduce repression? Examining the European Union’s economic agreements," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 335-357, September.
    18. Brass, Jennifer N. & Longhofer, Wesley & Robinson, Rachel S. & Schnable, Allison, 2018. "NGOs and international development: A review of thirty-five years of scholarship," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 136-149.
    19. Nicolai J. Foss, 2012. "Linking Ethics and Economic Growth: a Comment on Hunt," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 6(3), September.
    20. J. Clark & Robert Lawson & Alex Nowrasteh & Benjamin Powell & Ryan Murphy, 2015. "Does immigration impact institutions?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 163(3), pages 321-335, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:168:y:2023:i:c:s0305750x23000827. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.