Aid and Authoritarianism in Africa: Development without Democracy

There is a shocking aspect of Africa’s foreign aid that is almost entirely ignored: since 2013, almost half of Africa’s top aid recipients have been ruled by authoritarian one-party states. Many international donors such as USAID, DFID, the World Bank, and the European Commission have watched their aid policies becoming increasingly entangled with the agendas of governmental elites. The situation prompts an uncomfortable question: to what extent are foreign aid programs now actually perpetuating authoritarian rule in Africa?

Aid and Authoritarianism in Africa sheds much-needed light on the moral dilemmas and political intricacies raised by the poisonous relationship between foreign aid and autocratic rule. Leading experts on the political situations in Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Cameroon, Mozambique, and Angola contribute essays that expose the impact of foreign aid on military assistance, rural development, electoral processes, and domestic politics. Offering a controversial yet crucial argument on the perpetuation of authoritarianism in Africa, this book will be an indispensible resource for scholars and activists interested in the relationship between development aid and politics in the contemporary landscape.