IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/compsc/v43y2026i2p183-208.html

Foreign aid and transnational terrorism: The role of United Nations counterterrorism conventions

Author

Listed:
  • Henry Pascoe

Abstract

International cooperation in the form of aid in return for policy is a prominent feature of international politics. In this paper, I consider whether international commitments impact such cooperation in the context of counterterrorism. Using a game-theoretic model, I argue that counterterrorism conventions operate via an informal enforcement mechanism – foreign aid. I find support for empirical implications of the model. Treaty ratification increases both foreign aid reciepts and efficacy as a counterterrorism tool. This paper contributes to understanding the role of international commitments in fostering aid-based cooperation, as well as the limits of their ability to do so.

Suggested Citation

  • Henry Pascoe, 2026. "Foreign aid and transnational terrorism: The role of United Nations counterterrorism conventions," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 43(2), pages 183-208, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:compsc:v:43:y:2026:i:2:p:183-208
    DOI: 10.1177/07388942251340562
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/07388942251340562
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/07388942251340562?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daina Chiba & Tobias Heinrich, 2019. "Colonial Legacy and Foreign Aid: Decomposing the Colonial Bias," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(3), pages 474-499, May.
    2. Jean-Paul Azam & Véronique Thelen, 2008. "The roles of foreign aid and education in the war on terror," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 135(3), pages 375-397, June.
    3. Vreeland,James Raymond & Dreher,Axel, 2014. "The Political Economy of the United Nations Security Council," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521518413, Enero-Abr.
    4. Subhayu Bandyopadhyay & Todd Sandler & Javed Younas, 2011. "Foreign aid as counterterrorism policy," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 63(3), pages 423-447, July.
    5. Dai, Xinyuan, 2014. "The conditional effects of international human rights institutions," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Global Governance SP IV 2014-105, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    6. Przeworski, Adam & Vreeland, James Raymond, 2000. "The effect of IMF programs on economic growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 385-421, August.
    7. Kohno, Masaru & Montinola, Gabriella R. & Winters, Matthew S., 2023. "Foreign pressure and public opinion in target states," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    8. Corwin, Hillary, 2023. "Coercive and catalytic strategies for human rights promotion: State violence and foreign assistance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    9. Richard A. Nielsen & Michael G. Findley & Zachary S. Davis & Tara Candland & Daniel L. Nielson, 2011. "Foreign Aid Shocks as a Cause of Violent Armed Conflict," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(2), pages 219-232, April.
    10. Winters, Matthew S. & Martinez, Gina, 2015. "The Role of Governance in Determining Foreign Aid Flow Composition," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 516-531.
    11. Justin Conrad & James Igoe Walsh, 2014. "International Cooperation, Spoiling, and Transnational Terrorism," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(4), pages 453-476, August.
    12. Tim Büthe & Helen V. Milner, 2008. "The Politics of Foreign Direct Investment into Developing Countries: Increasing FDI through International Trade Agreements?," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 52(4), pages 741-762, October.
    13. Wilson, Sven E. & Butler, Daniel M., 2007. "A Lot More to Do: The Sensitivity of Time-Series Cross-Section Analyses to Simple Alternative Specifications," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(2), pages 101-123, April.
    14. Gulnaz Anjum & Adam Chilton & Zahid Usman, 2021. "United Nations endorsement and support for human rights: An experiment on women’s rights in Pakistan," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 58(3), pages 462-478, May.
    15. Alesina, Alberto & Dollar, David, 2000. "Who Gives Foreign Aid to Whom and Why?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 33-63, March.
    16. Haley J. Swedlund, 2017. "Can foreign aid donors credibly threaten to suspend aid? Evidence from a cross-national survey of donor officials," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 454-496, May.
    17. Brian J. Phillips, 2019. "Foreign Terrorist Organization designation, international cooperation, and terrorism," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(2), pages 316-343, March.
    18. Daniela Donno & Michael Neureiter, 2018. "Can human rights conditionality reduce repression? Examining the European Union’s economic agreements," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 335-357, September.
    19. Fleck, Robert K. & Kilby, Christopher, 2010. "Changing aid regimes? U.S. foreign aid from the Cold War to the War on Terror," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 185-197, March.
    20. Dreher, Axel & Lang, Valentin & Reinsberg, Bernhard, 2024. "Aid effectiveness and donor motives," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    21. Tierney, Michael J. & Nielson, Daniel L. & Hawkins, Darren G. & Roberts, J. Timmons & Findley, Michael G. & Powers, Ryan M. & Parks, Bradley & Wilson, Sven E. & Hicks, Robert L., 2011. "More Dollars than Sense: Refining Our Knowledge of Development Finance Using AidData," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 1891-1906.
    22. Cheeseman, Nic & Swedlund, Haley J. & O'Brien-Udry, Cleo, 2024. "Foreign aid withdrawals and suspensions: Why, when and are they effective?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    23. Wukki Kim & Todd Sandler, 2023. "Does transnational terrorism stimulate foreign assistance?," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 40(2), pages 187-206, March.
    24. Walter Enders & Todd Sandler & Khusrav Gaibulloev, 2011. "Domestic Versus Transnational Terrorism: Data, Decomposition, and Dynamics," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 48(3), pages 319-337, May.
    25. de Mesquita, Bruce Bueno & Smith, Alastair, 2009. "A Political Economy of Aid," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 63(2), pages 309-340, April.
    26. Wukki Kim & Todd Sandler, 2021. "Foreign aid and terrorist groups: incidents, ideology, and survival," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 189(1), pages 139-160, October.
    27. Azam, Jean-Paul & Thelen, Véronique, 2009. "Foreign Aid vs. Military Intervention in the War on Terror," TSE Working Papers 09-061, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    28. Barbara Koremenos, 2013. "What’s left out and why? Informal provisions in formal international law," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 137-162, June.
    29. Strezhnev, Anton & Kelley, Judith G. & Simmons, Beth A., 2021. "Testing for Negative Spillovers: Is Promoting Human Rights Really Part of the “Problem”?," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 75(1), pages 71-102, January.
    30. Jørgen Juel Andersen & Niels Johannesen & Bob Rijkers, 2022. "Elite Capture of Foreign Aid: Evidence from Offshore Bank Accounts," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 130(2), pages 388-425.
    31. Gary Uzonyi & Toby Rider, 2017. "Determinants of Foreign Aid: Rivalry and Domestic Instability," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(2), pages 272-299, March.
    32. James Vreeland, 2011. "Foreign aid and global governance: Buying Bretton Woods – the Swiss-bloc case," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 369-391, September.
    33. Qi Zhang, 2024. "When Does Security Cooperation Increase Foreign Aid Allocation?," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 68(5), pages 875-902, May.
    34. Ghashia Kiyani, 2022. "US aid and substitution of human rights violations," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 39(5), pages 587-608, September.
    35. Chia-yi Lee & Yasutaka Tominaga, 2024. "The Determinants of Terrorist Listing," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 68(1), pages 53-79, January.
    36. Bermeo, Sarah Blodgett, 2017. "Aid Allocation and Targeted Development in an Increasingly Connected World," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(4), pages 735-766, October.
    37. Paul Collier & Anke Hoeffler, 2007. "Unintended Consequences: Does Aid Promote Arms Races?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 69(1), pages 1-27, February.
    38. Mitchell Watkins, 2022. "Undermining conditionality? The effect of Chinese development assistance on compliance with World Bank project agreements," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 667-690, October.
    39. Simone Dietrich & Amanda Murdie, 2017. "Human rights shaming through INGOs and foreign aid delivery," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 95-120, March.
    40. Savun, Burcu & Tirone, Daniel C., 2012. "Exogenous Shocks, Foreign Aid, and Civil War," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 66(3), pages 363-393, July.
    41. Magesan, Arvind, 2013. "Human Rights Treaty Ratification of Aid Receiving Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 175-188.
    42. Garriga, Ana Carolina & Phillips, Brian John, 2014. "Foreign Aid as a Signal to Investors: Predicting FDI in Post-Conflict Countries," MPRA Paper 88643, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    43. Margaret Ariotti & Simone Dietrich & Joseph Wright, 2022. "Foreign aid and judicial autonomy," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 691-715, October.
    44. Lis, Piotr, 2018. "The impact of armed conflict and terrorism on foreign aid: A sector-level analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 283-294.
    45. Victor Asal & Brian J. Phillips & R. Karl Rethemeyer & Corina Simonelli & Joseph K. Young, 2019. "Carrots, Sticks, and Insurgent Targeting of Civilians," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 63(7), pages 1710-1735, August.
    46. Boyes, Christina & Eldredge, Cody D. & Shannon, Megan & Zvobgo, Kelebogile, 2024. "Social Pressure in the International Human Rights Regime: Why States Withdraw Treaty Reservations," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 54(1), pages 241-259, January.
    47. Axel Dreher & Andreas Fuchs, 2011. "Does terror increase aid?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 337-363, December.
    48. Lyall, Jason, 2019. "Civilian Casualties, Humanitarian Aid, and Insurgent Violence in Civil Wars," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 73(4), pages 901-926, October.
    49. Dasandi, Niheer & Erez, Lior, 2023. "The flag and the stick: Aid suspensions, human rights, and the problem of the complicit public," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    50. Chaudhry, Suparna, 2022. "The Assault on Civil Society: Explaining State Crackdown on NGOs," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 76(3), pages 549-590, March.
    51. Sara McLaughlin Mitchell & Paul R. Hensel, 2007. "International Institutions and Compliance with Agreements," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 51(4), pages 721-737, October.
    52. Dancy, Geoff & Fariss, Christopher J., 2024. "The Global Resonance of Human Rights: What Google Trends Can Tell Us," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 118(1), pages 252-273, February.
    53. Beck, Nathaniel & Katz, Jonathan N., 1995. "What To Do (and Not to Do) with Time-Series Cross-Section Data," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(3), pages 634-647, September.
    54. Allison Carnegie & Nikolay Marinov, 2017. "Foreign Aid, Human Rights, and Democracy Promotion: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 61(3), pages 671-683, July.
    55. Vreeland, James Raymond, 2008. "Political Institutions and Human Rights: Why Dictatorships Enter into the United Nations Convention Against Torture," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 62(1), pages 65-101, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dreher, Axel & Lang, Valentin & Reinsberg, Bernhard, 2024. "Aid effectiveness and donor motives," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    2. Corwin, Hillary, 2023. "Coercive and catalytic strategies for human rights promotion: State violence and foreign assistance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    3. Paul Bezerra & Alex Braithwaite, 2016. "Locating foreign aid commitments in response to political violence," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 333-355, December.
    4. Lis, Piotr, 2018. "The impact of armed conflict and terrorism on foreign aid: A sector-level analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 283-294.
    5. Cheeseman, Nic & Swedlund, Haley J. & O'Brien-Udry, Cleo, 2024. "Foreign aid withdrawals and suspensions: Why, when and are they effective?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    6. Maekawa, Wakako, 2024. "United Nations peacekeeping operations and multilateral foreign aid: Credibility of good governance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    7. Azam, Jean-Paul & Thelen, Véronique, 2012. "Where to Spend Foreign Aid to Counter Terrorism," IDEI Working Papers 725, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse.
    8. Axel Dreher & Jingke Pan & Christina Schneider, 2025. "Foreign Aid and Targeted Political Violence," CESifo Working Paper Series 11970, CESifo.
    9. Jin Mun Jeong, 2020. "Economic sanctions and income inequality: impacts of trade restrictions and foreign aid suspension on target countries," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 37(6), pages 674-693, November.
    10. Miles D. Williams, 2025. "Elusive collaboration? The determinants of lead donorship in international development," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 863-906, December.
    11. Stubbs, Thomas H. & Kentikelenis, Alexander E. & King, Lawrence P., 2016. "Catalyzing Aid? The IMF and Donor Behavior in Aid Allocation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 511-528.
    12. Joseph Young & Michael Findley, 2011. "Can peace be purchased? A sectoral-level analysis of aid’s influence on transnational terrorism," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 365-381, December.
    13. Wukki Kim & Todd Sandler, 2021. "Foreign aid and terrorist groups: incidents, ideology, and survival," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 189(1), pages 139-160, October.
    14. Wukki Kim & Todd Sandler, 2023. "Does transnational terrorism stimulate foreign assistance?," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 40(2), pages 187-206, March.
    15. Lauren L. Ferry & Emilie M. Hafner-Burton & Christina J. Schneider, 2020. "Catch me if you care: International development organizations and national corruption," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 767-792, October.
    16. Toke S. Aidt & Facundo Albornoz & Esther Hauk, 2019. "Foreign in influence and domestic policy: A survey," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1928, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    17. Raechelle Mascarenhas & Todd Sandler, 2014. "Remittances and terrorism: A global analysis," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(4), pages 331-347, August.
    18. Axel Dreher & Valentin F. Lang & Sebastian Ziaja, 2017. "Foreign Aid in Areas of Limited Statehood," CESifo Working Paper Series 6340, CESifo.
    19. Eugen Dimant & Tim Krieger & Daniel Meierrieks, 2024. "Paying Them to Hate US: The Effect of US Military Aid on Anti-American Terrorism, 1968–2018," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(663), pages 2772-2802.
    20. Khusrav Gaibulloev & Todd Sandler, 2023. "Common myths of terrorism," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 271-301, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:compsc:v:43:y:2026:i:2:p:183-208. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://pss.la.psu.edu/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.