We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Human Rights Violations, Political Conditionality and Public Attitudes to Foreign Aid: Evidence from Survey Experiments.
- Authors
Dasandi, Niheer; Fisher, Jonathan; Hudson, David; vanHeerde-Hudson, Jennifer
- Abstract
There has been much criticism of donor governments who give aid to states that violate human rights. This has fuelled concerns about how such coverage affects public support for foreign aid. In response, donors increasingly use aid suspensions to signal to domestic audiences that a regime has been sanctioned and aid is not misspent. This article examines how reports of rights violations affect attitudes to aid and what, if any, impact donor responses have on public perceptions. We conduct survey experiments using nationally representative samples of the British public. Our findings demonstrate that reports of rights abuses reduce public support for aid. However, contrary to conventional wisdom, any response from donors, whether it be to justify continuing aid or to cut aid, prevents a decline in support. In policy terms, the findings demonstrate the importance of government responsiveness in maintaining public support for a frequently contested aspect of foreign policy.
- Subjects
INTERNATIONAL economic assistance; HUMAN rights violations; INTERNATIONAL relations; PUBLIC support; POLITICAL attitudes; PUBLIC opinion
- Publication
Political Studies, 2022, Vol 70, Issue 3, p603
- ISSN
0032-3217
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1177/0032321720980895