The Role Of International Relations And Foreign Aid

Decent Essays
Without a doubt, in 2015, international relations and foreign aid has been a topic on the minds of many people: both those in need, and those who are involved in the aid effort, whether directly or indirectly. It is a highly divisive subject, pitting the potential of irreversible economic and societal tendency changes against the perceived generosity and goodwill of nations. Yet what is a country’s responsibility to assist neighbouring nations when they are in unrest? If the country is not directly involved in the problem, should they be assisting a country that is in need of aid? This problem is manifesting itself directly in the world today, particularly in the form of the European Refugee Crisis, that is forcing European countries to make …show more content…
However, whether it be this years’ serious refugee crisis, or any other situation where one country not involved directly has chosen to help another, one thing remains the same. This is the assumption of a need to help other countries. It is undoubtable that to a certain degree, countries claiming personal responsibility for helping with foreign issues does factor into international relations; the question is simply to what extent this plays a role.

Countries have long been working together to solve issues, and for the most part, it can be said that all of this foreign aid must have some ulterior motive for the country helping the other nation in need. Governmental agencies may not feel a sense of moral responsibility for helping out other countries, but may instead be interested in helping other countries for the
…show more content…
Such a success story of improved international relations between countries is one such as the relation between Canada and Australia. Though both countries are a member of the commonwealth, they share a unique bond because of their willingness to collaborate on mutual issues of foreign aid. This particularly involves the sharing of firefighting teams between both countries when they need help with fire control. In the winter months, Canadian firefighters will sometimes be transported to help out Australia, as this is usually the time when in Australia, fires are running rampant. Conversely, in the hot summer months of Canada, Australians are shipped off to Canada to help fight fires, when Australia is in their winter. This mutual cooperation is a demonstration of foreign aid working both ways. According to a ‘Star’ article entitled “Australian, New Zealand crews join efforts to battle Canadian forest fires”, the benefits of such a relationship are incredible. Furthermore, it strengthens the link between the two countries, and it leads to an international effort to help each country out in times of need. By aiding a nation that is not their own, Canada and Australia are able to establish better international relations with each other. The two governments are now also being linked by a wish to help each other when they are in need, and because of this link, they

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Foreign policy determines how America conducts relations with other countries. America’s foreign policy today covers a wide range of functions and issues. It seeks the power to protect and display America’s national interests around the globe. These national interests shape foreign policy and cover a wide range of political, economic, military and ideological concerns. On September 11th, 2001, two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers, collapsing and causing over 2500 deaths.…

    • 2315 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Foreign Aid Limitations

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The limitations on Foreign Aid include whether or not it is effective, deciding between a planner and searcher, and misallocation of provided aid by government officials. The billions of dollars that have been collected worldwide, and specifically designated to foreign aid, have been abused by politicians in developing countries and in turn, have registered as not generating an economic growth or negatively affecting a developing country’s economy. The big argument within economics and foreign aid is whether or not it is effective. Economists argue for both sides; however, with no sufficient amount of concrete evidence it is impossible to determine which claim is true.…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Four Choice Assignment America spends billions of dollars on foreign aid each year. (Forbes). A dispute has existed for many years dividing American’s on the subject - should we be helping other countries? Today many people are stating their opinions on the matter.…

    • 416 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Canada should continue foreign aid since its impact on the world is beneficial and relates back to its roots in post-Second World War Reconstruction. Foreign Aid is support through the distribution of resources, cash, and goods and services from wealthy, developed countries to poorer, developing countries given by governments, organizations, and charities to reduce poverty and provide economic aid. Foreign aid is comprised of two different types of aid which are bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral aid is provided from country-to-country, generally done in goods and services to countries such as India and Pakistan who need wheat, flour, and fertilizers. Multilateral aid is provided in cash where international organizations such as the World…

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As a member of the country of Eggonia 's Grand Council on Ethics and as a human, Eggonia obligated to send famine relief to the neighboring country of Furesia. Every living creature on Earth has correlation to other living things and has the mentality to help each other. According to me, helping others is an obligation which we have to follow and a law of nature. Sending famine relief to Furesia can save many lives and Eggonians are the cause of Furesian undergoing a devastating famine that cost them millions of lives for past five decades because Eggonians ' took Furesians ' source, a small egg laying mammal called the “frazzle”. And strong countries should always support the weak ones to become stable.…

    • 1410 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The United States foreign military policy is a policy that allows the United States military to assist any foreign country by any means necessary. The United States military has assisted many people starting back before the First World War. The United States military assisted the Texas army to defeat the Mexican army to take Texas from the Mexicans. The United States has helped many people and their crumbling countries including: Britain, France, South Korea, Vietnam, Baghdad, Iraq and many more.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you”. Humanitarian aid is surely not governed by politics or limited by race or religion. Humanitarian aid is the purpose of a person’s life to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others voluntary! Our world is changing, living people more and more vulnerable to the consequences of conflicts between countries or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, or hurricanes. The earthquake of 12 January 2010 in Haiti is an example of such a disaster.…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Societies’ morals is composed of benevolent visions and inadequate wills. Though we view humanitarian efforts as beneficial, we are often reluctant to participate and provide support to the humanitarian field. At times, many of us even choose to subdue our sympathetic willingness to aid by distancing ourselves and ignoring new information. This is not to say that we become entirely insensitive to global crisis and people’s suffering, but rather that we are so occupied with the convenience of our lifestyles that we would prefer to neglect the moral obligations we have to others in order to maintain our comfort. As such, even though we understand the essentiality of humanitarian aid and generally would like to see dire global and domestic problems…

    • 1425 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Canada’s foreign policy is profoundly and primarily impacted by foreign trades. A massive portion of our trades relies on Canada’s branding as the friendly and calm nation; Canada’s free-trade agreements are successful popularly due to our approachable and admirable label. In turn, this allows Canada to meet new potential clients, which ultimately expands the target audience for Canadian businesses. Additionally, Canada is able to network on an international level within these trades systems as Canadians open their minds to different approaches to business protocols, and cultural regimes in order to diversify one’s business. More specifically, Canada’s relations with America has rendered a widely successful partnership upon the renewed relationship…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Imagine going about your day, when suddenly, a civil war erupts and people scatter for safety? Understanding that’s not how it happened, but imagine being part of the millions of peoples scattering for their lives and seeking a safe place to stay. Turmoil in Syria has left the country in disarray. Neighboring countries were left speechless when they heard was in the brink of civil war. During war, people of all classes are affected, and innocent families are killed.…

    • 1199 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    For the first engaged activity in HIST 140, I decided to attend one of the “Humanities Happy Hour” events at the back bar grill located off of Franklin street. This was a rather laid back event where individuals could eat and drink, while listening to a guest speaker discuss a particular topic relating to the humanities. The guest speaker that they had on February 15th was Elizabeth Greig, an assistant professor of medicine here at UNC Chapel Hill. Her talk revolved around the somewhat recent events of the Haitian earthquake that occurred in 2010. The main purpose of her talk was to highlight the poor infrastructure that plagues Haiti and the Haitian people.…

    • 1392 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The topic of Internationalism has been one of major debate recently as the formation of the United Nations ( U.N), and European Union (E.U), as well as advancements in technology, have brought us closer together. It is the belief of former U.N governor general Kofi Annan, that internationalism is the next logical step for humanity; that we should put aside parts of our national interests, for the good of humanity as a whole. Kofi Annan's view come from that of an internationalist, he believes that the next political step is that of a world government; that the world should change into a more interconnected society, isolation amongst nations leads to undermining and sabotaging others in the name of one's nation. In his mind national…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Liberalism In Iraq

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Nick Sherman Professor Asal Political science 102 9/27/16 In the wake of 9/11 The United States, The United Kingdom, and many other nations formed a coalition against the Ba’athist regime of Saddam Hussein. The coalition force invaded in 2003 to overthrow Saddam’s dictatorship and establish a democratic state in the Middle East. Although in some instances realism can describe the invasion of Iraq, the theory of Liberalism best describes the invasion because of liberal notions such as collective security and the belief that cooperation can lead to beneficial outcomes to all involved.…

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Endless Humanitarian Crisis The humanitarian crisis of this world is at a level never seen in the history of man. Not since World War II have there been so many refugees or IDPs. In 2014, there were almost 60 million refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) around the globe right now. Put another way, that’s one in every 122 people worldwide. An immediate and perhaps unprecedented action has to occur to react to the unprecedented amount of people in dire need of necessities.…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Foreign Aid Essay

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Foreign aid is the international transfer of capital, goods, or services from a country or international organization for the benefit of the recipient country or its population. Aid can be economic, military, or emergency humanitarian (Williams 2015). Aid has long been recognized as crucial to help poor developing nations grow out of poverty. Peace and war has the significant effect of distribution of foreign aid in the developing countries. The distribution of foreign aids is effected in several factors which are based on the relations amongst the countries, military power, strategic natural resources, chances of development, diplomat ties and prestige, etc.…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays