Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery

Kindle
$74.99

Available instantly

Hardcover
$66.17

List Price: $75.00 Details

Save: $8.83 (12%)

FREE Returns

FREE delivery Wednesday, April 10. Order within 13 hrs 19 mins

Select delivery location

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$66.17 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.

Read full return policy

Payment

Secure transaction

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Details

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

$3.99 delivery April 11 - 17. Details

Or fastest delivery April 9 - 12. Details

Select delivery location

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by midtownscholarbookstore

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$63.26
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: BOOKS etc. _

Follow the author

Sophal Ear

Follow

Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy Hardcover – October 16, 2012

by Sophal Ear (Author)

4

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$66.17","priceAmount":66.17,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"66","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"17","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"29q0%2FqA99xaHvBfDcyVMB%2FzDV8%2B27nCQgiHLfFNH%2BFk8UZ9Pm73TwbzYPW79lNrcDYlaFGxbl6jsl3%2FxkqKQS3KAds6fG1JMiwU3XJaDhog%2Fw7mRcY3mlbNhlLWDPXxGMyx3yR4Q6qE2u8%2FBIeLqfg%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$4.99","priceAmount":4.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"4","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"29q0%2FqA99xaHvBfDcyVMB%2FzDV8%2B27nCQSwc%2BFGAG5bx01%2FlPIZZn4COhRFot9FAX5dDIsCfa%2Bi2IGsJEI0wm%2FdcXsK%2BnRaf4EEBoScjXrxV5GnNlu5T54iUuXJUbuTM56OP9dVYovSf6098%2FKh6ffenJ6IIRYHlzLO2hbmGUM5g%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

International intervention liberated Cambodia from pariah state status in the early 1990s and laid the foundations for more peaceful, representative rule. Yet the country's social indicators and the integrity of its political institutions declined rapidly within a few short years, while inequality grew dramatically. Conducting an unflinching investigation into these developments, Sophal Ear reveals the pernicious effects of aid dependence and its perversion of Cambodian democracy.

International intervention and foreign aid resulted in higher maternal (and possibly infant and child) mortality rates and unprecedented corruption by the mid-2000s. Similarly, in example after example, Ear finds the more aid dependent a country, the more distorted its incentives to develop sustainably. Contrasting Cambodia's clothing sector with its rice and livestock sectors and internal handling of the avian flu epidemic, he showcases the international community's role in preventing Cambodia from controlling its national development.

A postconflict state unable to refuse aid, Cambodia is rife with trial-and-error donor experiments and their unintended consequences, such as bad governance and poor domestic and tax revenue performance―a major factor curbing sustainable, nationally owned growth. By outlining the terms through which countries can achieve better ownership of their development, Ear offers alternatives for governments still on the brink of collapse, despite ongoing dependence on foreign intervention and aid.

Print length

208 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Columbia University Press
Publication date

October 16, 2012
Dimensions

6.1 x 0.9 x 9.1 inches
ISBN-10

0231161123
ISBN-13

978-0231161121
See all details

Editorial Reviews

Review

Using cross-national statistical evidence and his immense knowledge of Cambodian society, Sophal Ear has produced an important book on the perverse effects of development aid on governance. If this could be the starting point from which future discussions began, there would be a much greater chance of outsiders truly helping poor countries to develop. -- James Robinson, Harvard University

Sophal Ear's Aid Dependence in Cambodia is both passionate and level-headed. Inspired by his family's history and based on extensive field interviews and careful case studies, it offers a sustained criticism of how aid policies have contributed to dependence and helped undermine fragile democracies. There are valuable lessons here for all countries attempting to build peace and development with international assistance. -- Michael Doyle, Columbia University

Khmer Rouge survivor Sophal Ear is uniquely qualified to address the issue of aid and dependence in developing countries. Much more than academic criticism, Aid Dependence in Cambodia also charts a path for Cambodian reform. Although it is highly unlikely, Cambodian leaders would be wise to heed Ear's advice. -- Peter Maguire, author of Facing Death in Cambodia

...offers valuable lessons not just for policy-makers working on Cambodia but also for other countries emerging from conflict or upheaval. -- Sebastian Strangio ― Asia Times

Sophal Ear's work stands out for its social science rigour, its cohesion, as well as its probing quality, offering a new standard of scholarship on aid dependence not only applicable to the Cambodia case but easily replicable around the developing world. -- Geoffrey C. Gunn ― Asian Affairs

An important and timely contribution to the field. It raises awareness around Cambodia, and sheds light on what is otherwise widespread apathy and complacency. -- Peter Tan Keo ― The Diplomat

[Ear's] concise study provides valuable insights into the role of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in promoting governance in post-conflict societies. -- D. Gordon Longmuir ― Pacific Afairs

... Sophal Ear's logical, yet personal account of the impact that international foreign aid has on Cambodia, the country of his birth, should cause the entire aid community to reflect inwardly. ― Small Wars Journal

A pungent, grounded contribution... ― International Journal of Asian Studies

An excellent introduction to the literature on development on the region (and globally)... Everyone hoping to do some good in Cambodia ought to read this book... ― Journal of Southeast Asian Studies

About the Author

Sophal Ear is an assistant professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, where he teaches courses on postconflict reconstruction and political economy. Previously, he worked for the World Bank and the United Nations. A graduate of Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley, he arrived in the United States from France as a Cambodian refugee at the age of ten.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Columbia University Press (October 16, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0231161123
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0231161121
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 0.9 x 9.1 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,533,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,284 in Southeast Asia History
- #1,344 in Political Economy
- #2,054 in Democracy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Sophal Ear

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Sophal Ear, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School where he teaches courses on political economy and post-conflict reconstruction. He is a TED Fellow (2009), Fulbright Specialist (Chulalongkorn University, 2010), Council on Foreign Relations Term Member (2011), Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum (2011), and Fellow of Salzburg Global Seminar (2012). Dr. Ear also serves as Vice-Chair of Diagnostic Microbiology Development Program, a non-profit that builds laboratory capacity in the developing world. He advises the Master of Development Studies Program at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, and serves on the Editorial Review Boards of the International Public Management Journal and Journal of South-East Asian American Education & Advancement. His book, Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy (Columbia University Press) launched in October 2012 and his co-authored book, The Hungry Dragon: How China's Resources Quest is Reshaping the World (Routledge), will launch in 2013. Previously, he worked for the World Bank and the United Nations. A graduate of Princeton and Berkeley, he moved to the United States from France as a Cambodian refugee at the age of 10.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5

4 global ratings

5 star

72%

4 star

0%

3 star

0%

2 star

0%

1 star

28%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Anna

Explains Why Many Less Resource-Poor Countries Fail to Develop

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2022

One of the first and still one of the best books about the pathology of foreign aid in Cambodia, now replaced largely by Chinese foreign assistance. An incredibly valuable contribution that has stood the test of time.

Helpful

China Blue

Ridiculously expensive for an important 210 page Kindle book!!

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2018

C'mon! $40 for a 210 page Kindle book? This is a very important book that people need to read. Charging $40 for the Kindle version of a 210 page book is ridiculous. Its seems hypocritical for a book exposing greed and corruption to charge $40 for it.

Helpful

Debra Carney

An Invaluable Contribution to Understanding A Complicated Country

Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2014

Using clear prose and vivid, meticulously researched case studies and examples, Dr. Sophal Ear analyzes a modern conundrum: why has Cambodia, despite being the recipient of massive amounts of foreign aid, continued to languish near the bottom of so many measures of social and institutional development? Readers of this book will understand, along with much else, the disincentives for many rural Cambodians to cooperate with the Western response to halting bird flu and will learn about agricultural initiatives that worked-- and those that didn't--and why. Dr. Ear's contention that the government should levy taxes to insure accountability (at present, foreign aid takes the place of taxes and most Cambodians have little influence with their entrenched, often corrupt, government officials) is compelling. Dr. Ear argues the overarching thesis of his book persuasively: foreign aid has often undermined and stymied true democratic reform in Cambodia. And, despite the best intentions of those who send this aid, Cambodia may not be well-served by much of it.

Debra Carney, 2009 Fulbright Senior Specialist to the National Institute of Education, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Return this item for free