Development Assistance and Counterinsurgency: Understanding Philanthropy and Charity Within a Clear-Hold-Build Strategy

Abstract

This dissertation explores the ineffectiveness of development assistance as an intervention into a complex system, and makes a contribution in explaining how and why this is so. Specifically, this issue is explored within a charity-philanthropy context. As the build component of counterinsurgency (COIN) in Afghanistan is currently the most high-stakes, policy relevant example of US development assistance, this dissertation explores these issues within a COIN context.