Aiding, Trading or Abetting? The future of Trade, Aid and Security

The document examines the complex interactions between international trade, development aid, and security, specifically focusing on how the exploitation of natural resources can fuel violent conflict. It argues that current trade and aid frameworks often exacerbate instability in the 'South' due to inequitable rules, the 'resource curse', and the misuse of assistance. To counter this, the authors propose six policy objectives: designing conflict-sensitive trade and aid policies, restricting the trade of 'conflict resources', fostering responsible business practices, improving domestic governance, and enhancing the management of natural resource and aid revenues.

• Trade and aid can inadvertently undermine security and fuel violence, particularly when weakly-governed natural resource markets are globalized and trade rules are unbalanced.
• The 'resource curse' describes a pattern where countries dependent on natural resource exports experience weak institutions, economic instability, and higher levels of corruption compared to countries with diverse wealth.
• Current international trade rules are viewed as fundamentally inequitable, favoring wealthy nations and corporations while pushing developing countries toward market liberalization that can reduce government revenues and increase political instability.
• Development aid can be misused by both donors for geo-strategic goals and recipients through corruption or appropriation by armed groups, potentially deepening inequities if not coordinated with local authorities.
• Natural resources can prolong or initiate conflicts by providing funds for illegitimate wars, shifting the motivation of combatants from political grievances to economic greed.
• To improve governance and stability, the document recommends that developed countries avoid imposing subjective 'Western' concepts of governance and instead align interventions with domestic priorities and local contexts.

APA

Brown, O. (n.d.). Aiding, Trading or Abetting? The future of Trade, Aid and Security. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tas_conflict_and_dev_inquiry_jan06.pdf

Chicago

Brown, Oli. Aiding, Trading or Abetting? The future of Trade, Aid and Security. International Institute for Sustainable Development, n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tas_conflict_and_dev_inquiry_jan06.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Brown |first1=Oli |title=Aiding, Trading or Abetting? The future of Trade, Aid and Security |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tas_conflict_and_dev_inquiry_jan06.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{brownndaiding, author = {Brown, Oli}, title = {{Aiding, Trading or Abetting? The future of Trade, Aid and Security}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tas_conflict_and_dev_inquiry_jan06.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }