ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the relative utility of each paradigm for explaining US assistance policy. Scholars have attributed US foreign aid to moral imperatives. In fact, this perspective is considered especially relevant to explaining American assistance policy. There is an enduring tradition of viewing the United States as unique or exceptional within the community of nations and linking overseas assistance programs with humanitarian objectives. Scholars of overseas assistance have frequently highlighted the political motivations for US aid programs. Numerous scholars have highlighted the importance of political and security objectives in the construction of US assistance policy. Foreign economic involvement would be critical to the expansion of the American economy throughout the twentieth century. Critics point to the fact that US assistance is generally tied to the purchase of American goods and services. Aid is considered a mechanism for securing overseas markets and investment opportunities for the transnational corporations.
