How effective is US foreign assistance, and why is it offered in the first place? In this episode of Big World, SIS professor Jessica Trisko Darden discusses foreign aid and how it can be more thoughtfully implemented.

Professor Trisko Darden provides background on how US foreign aid got started in the years after World War II (1:23) and explains why the US became one of the largest providers of assistance (3:28). She discusses whether exporting American values plays a role in US foreign aid (4:32), and how the United States balances serving populations at home and abroad (5:54).

Based on research she conducted for her book Aiding and Abetting: US Foreign Assistance and State Violence, Professor Trisko Darden gives us a glimpse into both the positive and negative effects of US foreign aid (8:59). She also expands on how the United States should strategize to provide aid (12:17), reveals how US foreign assistance impacted her mother’s family in the Philippines (15:10), and shares how foreign aid is viewed in the age of social media (16:52).

During our “Take Five” segment, Professor Trisko Darden tells us the five major global issues with which foreign assistance can play a role (7:09).