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Aid and Institution-Building in Fragile States: Findings from Comparative Cases
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Aid and Institution-Building in Fragile States: Findings from Comparative Cases

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Edited by:
  • Rachel M. Gisselquist - United Nations University – World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Finland


192 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

According to recent estimates, about 1.5 billion people are affected by the conflict and instability that characterize fragile states, defined as those that are unable to fulfill basic state functions. This volume of The ANNALS addresses the questions of why and how some states succeed in becoming more robust, and others do not.

Paving new ground in theory development, the articles in this volume explore factors that contribute to institution-building in fragile states through comparative case studies. Such factors include the limits (and benefits) of domestic and foreign aid; the impact of a state’s historical strength; the impact of colonial and postcolonial interventions; and the political economy incentives for political leaders to sustain state fragility. Overall, the studies illustrate that aid has both positive and negative effects on institution-building in fragile states. Aid has the potential to contribute to state robustness through changing incentives and shaping institutional structures directly. However, aid can also weaken states, depending on a state’s domestic institutional legacy and political dynamics. The studies call for more research into theories of institution-building to further enhance those that have been discussed in this volume of The ANNALS.   

 
 
Aid and Institution-Building in Fragile States: What Do We Know? What Can Comparative Analysis Add?, Rachel M. Gisselquist
 
International Aid to Southern Europe in the Early Postwar Period: The Cases of Greece and Italy, Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos
 
U.S. Aid and Uneven Development in East Asia, Kevin Gray
 
Aid and Governance in Vulnerable States: Bangladesh and Pakistan since 1971, Mushtaq H. Khan
 
Foreign Aid, Resource Rents, and State Fragility in Mozambique and Angola, Helena Pérez Niño and Philippe Le Billon
 
Consociational Settlements and Reconstruction: Bosnia in Comparative Perspective (1995–Present), Sherrill Stroschein
 
Kosovo and Timor-Leste: Neotrusteeship, Neighbors, and the United Nations, Lise Morjé Howard
 
Transition Regimes and Security Sector Reforms in Sierra Leone and Liberia, Ato Kwamena Onoma
 
State Failure, State-Building, and Prospects for a “Functional Failed State” in Somalia, Ken Menkhaus
 
Intervention and State-Building: Comparative Lessons from Japan, Iraq, and Afghanistan, Jonathan Monten

Rachel M. Gisselquist