If last night's SOTU was, as expected, short on development, at least the Obama administration finally made good on last year's SOTU promise to try to consolidate the government agencies that work on economic promotion. (I say "try" since the request is simply for fast-track authority; no plan has...

As the troubling details of the Department of Energy's loan program continue to roll out, I can't help but think of another beleaguered agency ... USAID. And, I also wonder if, in thinking how to generate new clean energy technology at home, we might also find insights to better promote...

This is a joint post with Stephanie Majerowicz.

Nigeria, perhaps the world's poster child for the oil curse, is the latest country to deploy a sovereign wealth fund as a tool to try to better manage national income. At the same time, Nigeria is struggling with depleted savings...

The Arab Spring has grabbed the world's attention, yet Iraq -- the Arab country that not long ago was the very epicenter of American foreign policy -- has all but fallen off the front pages. While Iraq's security has improved greatly, the country is still struggling to consolidate a functional...

This is a joint post with Stephanie Majerowicz.

As Congress looks for cost savings, a logical first step would be to compare the various investments the USG makes to figure out what gets taxpayers the highest returns. One debate is bilateral versus multilateral, and the administration has signaled...

Followers of this blog know that I've been critical of the direction and implementation of U.S. development policy, and especially of the administration's embrace of a whole-of-government approach that seems to be making things more confused rather than better. In response, I often rightly get asked, "so what would work better?" So,...

It's now 26 months since the inauguration and where the #%&$ is USAID's leadership? Administrator Raj Shah has now been in the seat for 14 months but still has only four out his 10 Assistant Administrators on the job. (See our USAID Staffer Tracker). That's right, the following portfolios are,...

While talking beautifully about its development plans, the Administration is really not living up to its rhetoric of elevating development to equal status with diplomacy and defense, the so-called 3Ds. If development is really such an equal partner alongside defense and diplomacy, why is USAID increasingly a minor...

The bad news out of the U.N. Summit this week on the Millennium Development Goals is, ironically, too much good news. As the presidential limos of some 100-plus heads of state jam Manhattan's east side, there is anxiety about the future -- not because the goals have failed, but rather...

Good question as the world prepares for the September summit to assess progress. But this is a slightly odd debate here at The Africa Report. The UN Millennium Promise's Charles Abugre Akelyira seems to think the MDGs are a rejection of economic policy reform:

The MDGs came from the...

The developmentistas are still largely enamored with the current administration and clinging to the hope that the PSD and QDDR processes will lead to a more prominent role for "development" within the U.S. foreign policy hierarchy. A lot of this optimism rests squarely on the shoulders of...

Yesterday, the U.S. Congress struck a blow against corruption abroad when Chair of the Foreign Ops Appropriations Subcommittee Nita Lowey (D-NY) removed all non-military and non-humanitarian aid to Afghanistan from the FY11 budget. She claimed:

I do not intend to appropriate one more dime for assistance to Afghanistan...

Like many U.S. policy watchers, I have been reserving judgment on the administration's development policy while they staffed up and worked through the PSD and QDDR. The rhetoric and the overall budget have so far been positive signs that development issues will get more attention and the...

Amid all the media frenzy around the Nigerian underwear bomber and how America should have stopped him before he tried to blow up a passenger plane on Christmas Day, a critical piece to the counter-terrorism puzzle seems to have been missed: where in the world is the Nigerian President?

Normally,...

In the UK, the Conservative Party is leading soundly in the polls and appears likely headed to win elections sometime next spring. What would a David Cameron-led government mean for British development policy--and especially the future of DFID?

We got a...

President Obama's trip to Ghana was a celebration of African democracy. Similarly, Secretary Clinton's ongoing 7-country, 11-day trek across the continent will hit the democracy promotion theme, especially during her stop today in Nigeria.

But it's hardly been a good month for democracy in Africa:

...

Secretary Clinton will be leaving August 5 for a seven-country tour of Africa. She will hit Kenya, South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Liberia, and Cape Verde. (Whew!) The itinerary suggests that the theme of the trip will be more real politik than President Obama's...

Secretary Clinton will be leaving August 5 for a seven-country tour of Africa. She will hit Kenya, South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Liberia, and Cape Verde. (Whew!) The itinerary suggests that the theme of the trip will be more real politik than President Obama's recent...