Foreign aid and bilateral relations: The Israel−East Africa case

Abstract

Abstract International relations literature generally tells us that donor countries see foreign aid as a key instrument of foreign policy to promote political interests. According to research, donor countries usually hope to get favorable voting at the United Nations (UN) arena in return, meaning that the motivation for foreign aid is not so altruistic. This article examines these claims and discusses the link between foreign aid, bilateral relations, and voting patterns in the UN General Assembly while focusing on Israeli foreign aid to five East African countries, using data on Israel's foreign aid and data on voting patterns from 2012 to 2021. The results testify that Israel foreign aid has helped to promote ties with Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania, but has not helped to promote voting patterns in favor of Israel. The results reveal a duality according to which the bilateral relations between Israel and East African countries have improved, but there has been no improvement in their voting patterns in a way that raises questions about the success level of using foreign aid as a tool to promote a favorable UN voting.

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