The United States: Manipulation through the Provision of Aid
The United States: Manipulation through the Provision of Aid Despite the rapid development of technology and overall cultural progress in the world, a lot of regions can be still defined as third world countries. These are the countries that are characterised by poverty, instability, violent uprisings, and unsafe life conditions (Pearce, 2000), and they often require international help in order to solve their problems. The representatives of the first world countries, such as the United States, tend to offer financial aid to those in need (Morelli, 2017) —
however, it creates the basis for political manipulation. As the provider, the United States gains power over those it is helping, because the governments that receive funds begin to consider themselves obligated (Moyo, 2010). They might act in the interests of the United States instead of those of their own country, which can endanger the habitants and worsen their level of life even further. Thus, the provision of Western aid exposes the developing countries to political manipulation, and it is especially apparent on the examples of regions of sub-Saharan Africa and Ukraine.
The United States has devised two specific models of behaviour that it applies to the third world countries when offering them financial assistance. The first model is based on the notion that financial aid “can alleviate systemic poverty” (Moyo, 2010, p. xix), and it is implemented by giving huge amounts of money to the poorest regions, such as those in sub-Saharan Africa, in a gesture of seemingly good will. However, as practice has demonstrated, millions of people are “poorer today because of aid; misery and poverty have not ended but have increased” (Moyo, p. xix). The reason for it is that the United States frequently offers funds to Africa in the form of loans. The amount of money might seem generous at first, but the country will have to pay it back at one point of time. If it is unable to do it, it will have to ask for more loans from the United States, and as the result, the number of debt will continue to increase. Because of this, many African countries became heavily indebted, and additional financial aid “has not helped them reach their development objectives” (Moyo, p. 8). In turn, it makes the most affected African countries dependent on the United States, ready to let themselves be manipulated because they cannot afford to pay for the countless loans and they require even more money. As the result, the representatives of the first world countries “have firmly planted their roots among the poor” (Munyemesha, 2003, n.p.), thus gaining ability to manipulate them to their advantage. The second model of the manipulative behaviour of the United States is the artificial revolutions its government stages in poor countries such as Ukraine, providing them with military assistance and then using them to …
