Illuminating the Arts-Policy Nexus 

World Policy presents:

How Aid Dependence Derailed Cambodian Democracy
A Book Discussion with Sophal Ear

Thursday, October 11
8:30 to 10:00am
At Demos
220 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10001

This discussion is open to the public. Advance registration and payment are required to reserve a seat.

VIDEO FROM EVENT 

Sophal Ear on Aid Dependence in Cambodia

A book discussion with Dr. Sophal Ear on his new publication Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy

[Source: Kenji Nagoshi, UBrainTV]

A little over two decades ago, there was an optimism surrounding Cambodia’s democracy. International intervention had liberated the country from pariah state status. The UN Transitional Authority appeared to be laying the foundations for peaceful, representative rule, and the beloved former king had returned after 13 years in exile, endorsing the need for elections.

But within a few short years, there were assassination attempts, pitched battles in the street, and a grenade attack. Cambodia’s leaders enriched themselves on the country’s natural resources while the general population remained impoverished.

All this time, foreign aid poured in. Instead of helping the country, Sophal Ear says international intervention and foreign aid perverted Cambodia’s democracy and helped create today’s corrupt state. Unwilling to refuse aid, Cambodia is a poster child for the unintended consequences of trial-and-error donor experiments.

The Cambodian case is only one example. The more aid dependent a country, says Ear, the more distorted its incentives to develop sustainably. In this discussion, Ear outlines an alternative path for post-conflict countries, where self-driven development coexists alongside vital foreign aid.

About the Author

Sophal Ear is an assistant professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, where he teaches courses on post-conflict reconstruction and political economy. Previously, he worked for the World Bank and the United Nations. He has given a TED Talk, addressed the Oslo Freedom Forum and International Baccalaureate Organization, served as a Fulbright Specialist at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. He arrived in the United States from France as a Cambodian refugee at the age of 10, and went on to earn his doctorate and two masters degrees at the University of California, Berkeley, and a third masters degree at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School. For more information on Sophal Ear, please visit http://sophalear.com/.

Moderator

Christopher Shay is managing editor of World Policy Journal and a former reporter and editor at the Phnom Penh Post, an English-language daily newspaper in Cambodia.

When:

Thursday, Oct 11, 2012
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Breakfast will be served beginning at 8:30 and the discussion will start at 8:45.

Where:

Demos
220 Fifth Ave, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10001

Payment and Registration:

This breakfast discussion is open to the public. Advance registration and payment are required to reserve a seat.

Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy (list price $50.00) will be on sale at the event for $40; World Policy member price: $30.

• Event is free for World Policy members
• Regular admission: $15; admission + book: $40
• Nonprofit / student admission: $10; admission + book: $35

World Policy members:
Register by e-mailing events@worldpolicy.org by October 9th with your name and affiliation.

Non-members:
Payments can be made online via Paypal below.

Sophal Ear - Aid Dependence in Cambodia - Oct. 11, 2012

Regular admission $15.00 USDRegular admission + book $40.00 USDNonprofit/Student admission $10.00 USDNonprofit/Student admission + book $35.00 USD

To pay by check, make checks payable to World Policy Institute and send to:

World Policy Institute
220 Fifth Ave, Ninth Floor
New York, NY 10001

Call the World Policy Events line at 212.481.5005, Option 2, with any event-related questions