Introduction: the dilemmas of aid -- The state of aid -- The strategic imperative -- The advisory business -- Making peace -- Delivering military assistance -- Building economies amidst conflict -- Conditionality and ownership -- Dreams of a Marshall plan -- Addressing the infrastructure deficit...

This chapter discusses the role of military interventionism and aid in nation-building. We argue that (1) intervention strategies of foreign actors like the United States often unfavorably interact with local institutional settings, which (2) produces undesired outcomes not only for the target...