ABSTRACT
Venezuela was once lauded as a regional exemplar of democracy and a leading proponent of the rules-based world order in Latin America. However, increasing nationalism and the undermining of the rules-based world order by the United States facilitated the emergence of regional soft power by China and Russia. The Nicolás Maduro government, being propped up by aid from China and Russia, has morphed from a hybrid regime to something more closely resembling a mafia state. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated widespread and ongoing shortages of food, water, medication, and electricity, while poverty and inequality rates have increased exponentially. The culminative effect of these problems has been a mass exodus of over 5 million Venezuelans with more expected to follow. Caught between these political rivalries, the Maduro government cannot apply to the International Monetary Fund for aid without exposing its own shortcomings, both domestically and internationally, or without jeopardising aid provided by China and Russia. This chapter examines the case of foreign aid and development in Venezuela from the perspective of an alternative rules-based world order created by emerging US nationalism, shifting global political rivalries, and the use of soft power by emerging powers in the region.
