What Nations Can Build

“We work hard, eat less, so our children can have a better future.”

Douglas Alexander, the UK’s Secretary of State for International Development, quoted a father from a poor family he had met in his travels in a speech he gave last week at the Harvard Club. His topic: international affairs and development. I was lucky enough to see him speak in person, thanks to a hook-up from MYD Prez Al Benninghoff.

Alexander’s message was simple: developing nations need our help and it is in our best interest to help them. Take, for example, fragile governments in the Middle East and Africa. There are very real business and political advantages to helping these nations; we also must fulfill our humanitarian obligations.

Alexander also piggy backed on a quote from President Obama’s inaugural speech: “People will judge on what [nations] can build, not what [nations] destroy.” Alexander implied that military strength alone is not enough to lead the world. In the 21st century, it will take a variety of resources to achieve our goals.

I had a chance to ask Alexander a question about foreign aid. We currently spend billions of tax payers dollars to aid foreign governments. Unfortunately, a portion of these funds are used to perpetuate corrupt politicians and fuel adverse political organizations. I asked him what preventative measures were in place to ensure that foreign aid did not go in the wrong hands. He explained the accounting systems and various international agencies that track the funds today, but acknowledged it was far from a perfect system.

Aid is best used in stable democracies, but stable democracies are precisely what a lot of this aid is trying to engender. It’s a chicken-and-egg problem, and no one has a clear and easy answer yet.

Want to talk with other MYDers about how the U.S. should deploy foreign aid and other global issues? Join our Foreign Affairs Committee.