Publication

This paper argues that a closer look at the Department for International Development’s (DFID) engagement in the context of engagement in Afghanistan and Iraq suggests that UK aid has not been used purely to achieve geopolitical and security objectives. In fact, this engagement stems from a recognition, emerging prior to the events of 9/11, that conflict and development are interrelated and that many of the world’s poorest live in fragile or conflict-affected countries. Furthermore, a number of legal and administrative ‘firewalls’ have been established to protect the UK’s poverty focus in its development support and to avert the securitization of its aid.