European University Institute Library

Aiding Afghanistan, a history of Soviet assistance to a developing country, Paul Robinson & Jay Dixon

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-220) and index

index present

non fiction

Aiding Afghanistan

bibliography

794816702

Paul Robinson & Jay Dixon

a history of Soviet assistance to a developing country

For close to sixty years Afghanistan was one of the largest recipients of foreign development aid and yet it remains one of the poorest countries on the planet. The Soviet Union provided Afghanistan with large-scale economic and technical assistance for nearly twenty-five years before invading in 1979 and then increased the volume of assistance even further during the 1980s in an effort to prop up the government and undermine the anti-Soviet insurgency. None of this aid made any lasting difference to Afghan poverty. As in so many other countries, foreign aid did not promote economic growth. Using unexplored Russian sources, this book describes and analyses the economic and technical assistance programs run by the Soviet Union from the mid-1950s through to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and places them in the context of both Soviet-era development theories and more recent ideas about the role of institutions in fostering economic growth. In some respects Soviet development theorists were actually ahead of their contemporary Western counterparts in realising the centrality of institution-building, but they proved unable to translate their theories into practical solutions. The reasons why their assistance programs failed so completely in Afghanistan remain compellingly relevant today.--, Provided by Publisher

1. Introduction 2. Models of Development and Soviet Theories 3. Soviet Assistance to Afghanistan Prior to 1979 4. Soviet Assistance to Afghanistan: 1979-86 5. Soviet Assistance to Afghanistan: 1987-91 6. Conclusion Annex I. Major Development Projects Completed by the Soviet Union Annex II. Key Soviet-Afghan Treaties, Agreements, Protocols, and Letters, 1955-88 Annex III. Profits of Enterprises Built with the Assistance of the USSR, 1976-77 Annex IV. Credits Granted by the Soviet Union for Economic Development Annex V. Postponements of Debt Repayments, 1965-91 Annex VI. Major Development Projects Cancelled by the Soviet Union, 1980-85 Annex VII. Credits Granted by the Soviet Union for the Purchase of Consumer Goods Annex VIII. Costs of Soviet Technical Assistance to Afghanistan, 1981-91 Annex IX. Economic Assistance and Other Expenses, 1986-87