1. Pathways to development; 2. How governments work; 3. Civilization; 4. Human capital development; 5. Human capital and national security; 6. Training; 7. Militarization; 8. Education in the third world; 9. Education in the United States; 10. Support; 11. Measurement; 12. Conclusion: a new foreign assistance strategy.
Foreign aid can be made much more effective by shifting emphasis from poverty alleviation to leadership cultivation and cultural transformation.
Mark Moyar is the author of numerous books and articles on national security and capacity building, including Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954–1965 and A Question of Command: Counterinsurgency from the Civil War to Iraq. He has been a professor at the US Marine Corps University, where he held the Kim T. Adamson Chair of Insurgency and Terrorism, and, most recently, at the Joint Special Operations University. A frequent visitor to foreign conflict zones, he has served as a consultant to the senior leadership of several US military commands.
'Mark Moyar has written a compelling critique of the prevailing
practices and underlying logic of the development community and its
approach to foreign aid. He draws upon an impressive intellectual
lineage in his broader arguments about the importance of culture
and civilization. He is especially critical of the Annales School
of Braudel and its adherents. In doing so, Moyar argues that the
predominant emphasis on development itself, including policies and
infrastructure, is largely misplaced and that the building of human
capital, including training of elites, effective governance, and
the provision of a stable security environment, constitutes an
essential sine qua non for progress in the developing world.'
Robert J. Lieber, Georgetown University
'Mark Moyar's brilliantly argued and thoroughly researched new book
is a fine contribution to the debate over more effective
development theory and practice. He writes as a pro-aid
conservative unfettered by the heavy ideological baggage of the
egalitarian left which has for too long dominated (and distorted)
the debate on aid reform. Aid for Elites should be added to the
reading list of all development professionals.' Andrew S. Natsios,
George H. W. Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A
& M University
'In Aid for Elites Mark Moyar makes a brilliantly argued and
compelling case for reviving efforts to invest in human capital as
a cornerstone in the development of nations. He analyzes how human
capital is the make or break - and often ignored - component in
establishing and maintaining functioning institutions. He explains
the missteps and faulty logic that saw the US foreign and
development policy establishment ditch their large scale programs
investing in people in the 1950s and 60s - in favor of an
overemphasis on primary education and over reliance on expensive,
foreign technical assistance. Re-establishing initiatives in
training and education - with necessary adaptations - could present
a far cheaper and more effective way than the current set of
practices to promote security, rule of law and development. Policy
makers and students of security and development alike would be wise
to give this book and its recommendations serious attention.' Clare
Lockhart, Institute for State Effectiveness, Washington, DC
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