This is the fifth in a weekly series of posts exploring themes raised in Dambisa Moyo’s book Dead Aid. On pages 59-60 Moyo says that during the 1990s there were 27 major armed conflicts in the world, of which 17 were in Africa. Armed conflicts are normally associated with competition for control of resources, they are predominantly a feature of poorer economies, and they are increasingly internal in nature.
Africa receives more in development assistance per capita than any other region of the world. Is there a causal relationship between aid and conflict? Certainly, countries which suffer conflict are needy as a result, so an increase in conflict is likely to result in an increase in the prevalence of aid. However, Moyo argues that the relationship goes the other way; that foreign aid foments conflict. She argues that the availability of foreign aid funds makes seizing power more attractive.
The more money there is to make a grab for, the more enticing an armed political power play becomes. Moyo claims that foreign aid fosters a military culture. A government needs a strong military to ward off armed attacks from rivals, so it is in the interests of the incumbent government to divert as much aid as possible into maintaining military strength. Government becomes a greedy personal quest for money and power, rather than a way of serving the best interests of the country’s citizens