Democratizing dictators? Non-democratic regime conditions and the allocation of US democracy assistance, 1975–2010
| Published date | 01 June 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0192512119858358 |
| Author | James M Scott,Ralph G Carter |
| Date | 01 June 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512119858358
International Political Science Review
2020, Vol. 41(3) 436 –450
© The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/0192512119858358
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Democratizing dictators?
Non-democratic regime conditions
and the allocation of US democracy
assistance, 1975–2010
James M Scott
Texas Christian University, USA
Ralph G Carter
Texas Christian University, USA
Abstract
As the USA initiated strategies of democracy promotion to support the spread of democracy, a key element
involved democracy assistance. However, some states receive substantial commitments of US democracy aid
while other states receive little or none, and the mix of democracy assistance varies in allocation between
civil society and institutional channels. This study examines democracy aid allocation, focusing on the role of
regime conditions on the targeting and composition of the aid. We disaggregate regime type to differentiate
among non-democratic governments and argue that such differences affect both the amount of democracy
aid and whether aid packages target government institutions or civil society channels. We theorize how
these regime conditions shape allocations, controlling for donor interests and recipient features, and test our
argument against US democracy aid allocations by the US Agency for International Development (USAID)
from 1975 to 2010. We conclude with discussion of the implications of these findings.
Keywords
Democracy aid, foreign aid, democratization, authoritarianism, foreign policy
Introduction
In 1999, Egypt received roughly US$22 million in US democracy aid, half of which was distrib-
uted to civil society groups. Meanwhile, nearby Eritrea received about US$500,000 of democ-
racy aid in 1999, none of which went to civil society. According to Polity, both countries were
Corresponding author:
James M Scott, Department of Political Science, Texas Christian University, Campus Box 297021, Fort Worth, TX
76129-7021, USA.
Email: j.scott@tcu.edu
858358IPS0010.1177/0192512119858358International Political Science ReviewScott and Carter
research-article2019
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