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Oxfam America

Smart Development: Why US foreign aid demands major reform
Half the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day. This is a human rights crisis. For US policy makers, however, it is also a national security concern. They recognize that persistent deep poverty and injustice can alienate populations from states, increase the risk of civil conflict, and erode weak states’ capacity to govern, providing space for domestic and transnational security threats. To tackle these threats, US policy makers and analysts are increasingly calling for the use of “smart power,” combining the hard power of the military with the soft power of US diplomatic and development efforts.

Oxfam America - Why US foreign aid demands major reform (pages: 32)