The end of aid? US, China, and the future of development

Aug 28, 2025

Jack Taggart, a Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy at Queen’s University Belfast, dives into the complexities of foreign aid amidst shifting global dynamics. He discusses the surprising cuts to USAID and the rise of China's development finance as a counterbalance. Taggart explores how these changes impact multilateral initiatives and the role of new state actors, stressing the need for innovative strategies to empower developing nations. He critically examines the challenges posed by financialization in enhancing aid effectiveness and the future of international cooperation.

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INSIGHT

Aid Becoming Financialized

The Trump cuts to USAID shift U.S. development from public aid to de-risking private investment through the DFC.
That transforms aid into a financialized tool prioritizing investment over traditional humanitarian goals.

ANECDOTE

Food Aid Left To Rot

Jack warns that food aid is reportedly rotting in warehouses after USAID cuts, risking hundreds of deaths.
He cautions on methodology but stresses that NGOs and vulnerable communities face vast impacts.

INSIGHT

Aid As Diplomatic Leverage Shrinks

Public foreign aid once gave the U.S. diplomatic leverage that is now eroded by budget cuts.
The absence of flexible public aid could weaken U.S. influence in rapid geopolitical dealmaking.

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In early 2025, headlines announced that the Trump administration would move to dramatically slash USAID—the United States’ flagship development agency. For many, the move was surprising, even self-defeating: why would a president so focused on countering China weaken one of Washington’s most effective tools of soft power? At the same time, China’s development finance continues to expand, and geopolitical competition over infrastructure intensifies, raising alarm bells across Washington and beyond. To help us make sense of this moment—and the broader politics of foreign aid—we’re joined by Jack Taggart, an expert on global governance and development, who discusses what these cuts mean for U.S. strategy, China’s rise, and the contested terrain of development and aid in today’s world.

BIO:

Jack Taggart is a Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy at Queen’s University Belfast. His research spans international political economy, global governance, and global development, focusing on shifting dynamics in development cooperation, such as the rise of new state and private actors, aid financialization, and development finance transformations. He also examines global governance institutions and the growing role of “multistakeholderism” in areas ranging from economic policy to environmental treaties.

Links:

The Second Cold War and Demise of the Western Foreign Aid Regime by Jack Taggart, SCWO Dispatch

How to DOGE USAID by Daniela Gabor in Phenomenal World

Industrial Policy and Imperial Realignment by Ilias Alami, Tom Chodor, Jack Taggart in Phenomenal World

Rethinking d/Development by Emma Mawdsley and Jack Taggart in Progress in Human Geography

Fictions of Financialization by Nick Bernard

Rendering development investible: the anti-politics machine and the financialisation of development by Jack Taggart and Marcus Power in Progress in Human Geography

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