U.S. policymakers view Pakistan as one of the most critical fronts—perhaps the most critical front—in the U.S.-led effort to combat violent extremism. President Obama has said that economic development is the central component of his administration’s Pakistan strategy. And Congress has authorized a three-fold increase in nonmilitary aid—a total of $7.5 billion—to Pakistan over the next five years. Will it work?
Prospects are not encouraging. The effectiveness of the massive new American aid push is imperiled by the same old problems that have undermined the effectiveness of billions of dollars that the United States and other donors have spent on development in Pakistan over the past three decades: weak governance, political instability, and widespread corruption.
CGD has convened the Study Group on a U.S. Development Strategy in Pakistan to draw lessons from past experiences and offer practical recommendations to U.S. policymakers on the effective deployment of foreign assistance and, more broadly, other non-aid instruments for achieving sustainable development in Pakistan.