Say the US simply stopped providing any financial or military assistance to foreign governments. Which of them might collapse? More specifically, fall through some kind of extralegal action: an invasion by a neighbor, or a coup or revolution. NOT in the sense of losing a parliamentary vote of confidence, or a normal electoral transfer of power.
Obvious candidates are Afghanistan and Iraq.
What about Saudi Arabia, and a few of those other Mid East sultanates? South Korea, invaded by the north? Any South American generalissimos who might get strung up on a post if not for their American-supplied tank battalion?
I would think that Isreal would suffer some form of significant or even catastrophic political changes if all aid (not just govt but private as well) was cut off.
Russia is a bit shakey. They might revert to some form of radical socialism without US financial aid.
No one has yet mentioned the fact that if the United States ceased all foreign aid, it would likely experience significant dissent from within. A perfect example of that would be (hypothetically) if the US withdrew its support of Israel and left the Middle East to fend for itself. Do you think the US Jewish community would stand idly by and watch the result?
No one has yet mentioned the fact that if the United States ceased all foreign aid, it would likely experience significant dissent from within. A perfect example of that would be (hypothetically) if the US withdrew its support of Israel and left the Middle East to fend for itself. Do you think the US Jewish community would stand idly by and watch the result?
The short answer to your question is that if the US did that, the US would likely be the nation that falls.
I didn’t count Liberia because at the moment it doesn’t have much of a government to fall.
Fuji Kitakyusho, I don’t mean to suggest this is likely, or possible, and it is certainly not desirable.
Maybe it’s better to approach the question kind of sideways – which countries are most vulnerable if the US turns off aid to that country? Regardless of the political likelihood.
Israel is a good candidate for destruction if it loses aid. So are all of its neighbors if the stories about its nuclear capabilities are true.
When I said “just fine” I meant that I think they’d defeat their enemies. Not that every Arab country wouldn’t carpet bomb Israel the first chance they got if they knew Israel was getting no help.
This is often bandied about, but with the exception of Syria (and its mini-me Lebanon), which Arab countries would do this (Iraq now being neutralized)?
I am quite certain Haiti would fall. It is not so much the aid money as the knowledge that the US has stepped in to remove an illegitimate government in the past and may do so again. The guns are still in the country and Aristide has powerful opposition.
Boyo Jim If I had more faith in the hamsters I could dig up straight-up aid dollars sites, WHO sites with info about programs in various countries and funding sources, etc. etc.
IMO, the majority of Sub-saharan Africa, sans South Africa and Madagascar would probably deteroriate into bloodshead and genocide.
In Asia, the majority of the former Soviet states would probably take a hit, but not much of one as they aren’t ‘dependent’ on the USA. South Korea wouldn’t fall in the least, as its military is frightning for its size (ever seen the ROK Marines? As an Air Force SP, I’ve seen some kickass troopers, but the ROK Marine Corps is truely scary.) On a slightly different angle, what would happen to Japan if the US threw up trade laws identical to those that Japan has against outside competition?
In South America, I’d say that Columbia would fall for sure. Everyone else seems to be stable enough (Argentina is shakey, but not terribly so.)
In the Macro/Micronesia regions, Indonesia would need American trade, but not so badly that they’d fall.
In Europe…god, where to start? The former Yugoslav republics, all of them, continue to exist solely on the US’s willingness to allow them to exist. Serbia and Montenegro (eg, the ‘New’ Yugoslavia) especially. Italy is propped up well by American dollars, and for gods sake, why not just let Russia fall and be done with it?
