What question did this study set out to answer?

To determine whether international assistance allocations to the Western Balkans are driven by recipient need, merit, or donor self-interest, and evaluate their impact on regional state-building.

July 22, 2020Journal of Contemporary European StudiesOpen Access

International assistance, donor interests, and state capture in the Western Balkans

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Authors

WBWill BartlettUnited States Geological Survey

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Implication

Policy analysis reveals aid allocation reflects need rather than merit in the Western Balkans, suggesting foreign funding inadvertently enables domestic state capture.

Key Points

To determine whether international assistance allocations to the Western Balkans are driven by recipient need, merit, or donor self-interest, and evaluate their impact on regional state-building.
Examined 25 years of international aid allocation patterns and donor distribution strategies across Western Balkan nations.
Assessed donor allocation criteria against measures of recipient need, merit-based governance reforms, and donor foreign policy interests.
Donor allocations consistently reflected recipient need but did not reflect merit, failing to reward adherence to governance norms.
European Union donors and institutions largely overlooked poor governance behaviors, fostering a Samaritan's dilemma that facilitated elite rent-seeking and state capture.

Cite This Study

Will Bartlett (2020) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a0db5cdfb8c7be8ffba7d80 https://doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2020.1794801

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Implication

Policy analysis reveals aid allocation reflects need rather than merit in the Western Balkans, suggesting foreign funding inadvertently enables domestic state capture.

International assistance, donor interests, and state capture in the Western Balkans

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

International assistance, donor interests, and state capture in the Western Balkans

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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