America's Helping Hand

Book excerpt: Since the end of the Second World War, economic assistance has turned into the extremely important instrument of regulating international relations. However, the significance of foreign aid becomes even greater for the periods of restructuring the system of international economic relations, when it is necessary to overcome nationalistic barriers in order to influence the character and direction of recipients' economic development. At the times of serious international political and military crises, foreign aid can change its destination from economic development to security goals. During Eisenhower's presidency the struggle between these two tendencies, which were formulated in the so-called 'development assistance' and 'mutual security' doctrines, was waged particularly aggressively and uncompromisingly, since the control over foreign aid allowed any party to direct, to a considerable degree, the entire world order building process.