United Staters foreign assistance and the change from economic to security-based aid: Reagan through Clinton.

The purpose of this dissertation is to discuss the changes that took place under the Reagan administration with regard to foreign economic and military assistance and to show the consequences of those changes, as they continued on through the next two administrations. It is argued that Reagan shifted the focus of foreign aid away from the humanitarian-based ideology of the Carter era to a strategy based on national security. In addition, it is argued that because of Reagan's decision to increase defense spending and cut taxes, the nation suffered a severe rise in the national debt. This rise precipitated the enactment of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Act (GRH) in 1985. The GRH prompted cuts in both the domestic and foreign affairs budgets; the amount allocated to the foreign aid budget through the Agency for International Development saw significant reductions during different periods following the enactment. This dissertation will not only clarify the reasons why the changes took place in the foreign aid budget during the subsequent two administrations, but will also explain the interaction between the Presidents and Congress that perpetuated those cuts. The dissertation is divided into four main chapters. The first three represent the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations. This is followed by a fourth chapter that uses statistical analyses to determine the rationale behind aid to developing countries. It is concluded that the change in both the level of freedom and the level of GNP per capita do influence the amount of aid. The statistical analyses also represent a framework that builds upon the preceding three presidential chapters in that it takes the process a step further while at the same time allowing for general conclusions based upon data from all three administrations. The findings in this dissertation go beyond previous research by using data that has only recently become available in regards to the Clinton administration and by reviewing the effects of the GRH through three presidential administrations.PhDAmerican historyInternational lawSocial SciencesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/131780/2/9929945.pd