Heeding the Democratic Calling: a Study on the Impact of Nationality in State-Sponsored Democratic Assistance Programs

In this paper, the similarities and differences in the national approaches to sponsoring democratic developmental aid of three Western nation-states are examined. The three Western case studies include the nations of the Netherlands (Rijksoverheid Ontwikkelingsssamenwerking), the United Kingdom (UKAID) and the United States (USAID). Analysis of their national trends towards democracy-building project sponsorship is accomplished by taking a sample (5 per case) of their nationally-sponsored developmental aid projects. The Netherlands spends the highest percentage of aid for democracy-building in Afghanistan and the UK spends the second most. This is despite the fact that the United States has historically played a strong role in the region. The United States works largely on bilateral projects, but cooperates with local implementers. All cases have a high percentage of local Afghanistan actors. The War in Afghanistan (2001-2011) has had a deep impact on the freedoms and essential indicators of democracy. The persistence of Western countries supporting democracy-building projects is essential to the survival of a functional government and to building a stable society within Afghanistan.