David Amongst Goliaths: The Far-Reaching Effects of Regime Change in Nepal on Aid and International Politics
Despite the globally devastating economic recession and the politically strained situation in Nepal, foreign aid from China, Japan, and the United States increased significantly in the year 2008. Scholars have remained focused on historical development of aid, the effectiveness of aid, or aid's influence on democratization, but have rarely addressed the effects of regime change on foreign aid patterns. The case study of Nepal addresses the impactful effects of regime change by investigating foreign policy patterns of China, Japan, and the United States in relation to Nepal's new regime. It challenges McKinley and Little's (1979) donor interest and recipient need model to include an important new factor, recipient political conditions, in determining changes to foreign aid patterns. Additionally, this case study also exemplifies the importance of examining multilateral effects of bilateral foreign aid and establishes secularization as an important catalyst in altering aid patterns.