Aiding or abetting: The comparative role of human rights in foreign aid decisions

When do states take human rights into account in foreign policy? I examine in comparative perspective the roles of human rights and economic self-interest in shaping aid policy. I argue that human rights abuses in the recipient state prompt aid reduction/cessation by donors only when the recipient is of little economic value to the donor, and when the donor government is weak. I assess these hypotheses through quantitative and qualitative analyses of the foreign policies of OECD states. I trace overall patterns in the relationships between aid, trade, and domestic politics, as well as changes occurring as the boundaried Cold War global system dissolved into the interconnected politico-economic world of the late 1990s.; This research is designed to shed light on a common question about the role of human rights in foreign policy. Are these rights something for which states are willing to sacrifice other goals? I demonstrate that aid amounts depend on the trade relationship between donor and recipient, as well as on the recipient's strategic importance. Despite donors' rhetorical commitment to using foreign aid to pursue human rights improvements in recipients, human rights records are only good predictors of aid in cases where the recipient is likely to be economically unimportant to the donor. Other factors that have been posited to affect aid---such as human rights activism, the influence of recipient country coethnics in the donor, and the nature of the donor regime---only matter in a few cases.; Determining under what conditions human rights matter in foreign policy decisions is important for three primary reasons. First, if the states that can influence the international agenda fail to do so, they signal that human rights can be costlessly sacrificed. Second, in countries where respect for democratic values is purportedly the basis of governmental legitimacy, a failure to respect and protect these rights represents a contradiction of core principles. Finally, since foreign aid strengthens ruling regimes in recipient countries, as well as exacerbates existing inequalities, it is the ethical responsibility of donor states to understand when aid is assistance---and when it is complicity.