ABSTRACT
In March 2002, President George W. Bush established what his administration referred to as the ‘new global development compact’, which took the form of the Millennium Challenge Account (hereafter MCA). By increasing its core development assistance, this global development compact aims to replace existing loans to the poorest seventy-nine countries with grants, so as to help governments ‘who rule justly, invest in their people, and encourage economic freedom’.1 Eligibility for grants will be contingent on sixteen broadly defined criteria – ranging from civil liberties to trade policy – that the recipient countries must meet as a precondition to receiving aid. According to President Bush, the MCA
will be based on a distinctly American internationalism that reflects the union of our values and our national interests. The aim of this strategy is to help make the world not just safer but better. Our goals on the path to progress are clear: political and economic freedom, peaceful relations with other states, and respect for human dignity.2
