Abstract
The LGBT community is explicitly targeted in many areas of the world through discriminatory state policies and practices including lengthy imprisonment and death. Research examining the relationship between foreign aid and human rights conditions has yet to fully situate gay rights within the aid allocation relationship. In 2011, President Obama issued a memo directing U.S. foreign aid policy to explicitly take gay rights levels into consideration in aid allocation. This article begins to explore the effect, if any, of the policy change. This article traces gay rights practices and U.S. foreign aid amounts from 2009-2014 in Uganda and Nigeria. The descriptive analysis sheds light on the relationship between gay rights and foreign aid during a time of foreign aid policy change. Through these two cases, I find that U.S. foreign aid increased slightly over time while violence and policies against the LGBT population worsened in Nigeria and Uganda. In conclusion, I call for future research to further explore the relationship between foreign aid, development, and gay rights.
Recommended Citation
Audrey L. Comstock
(2016)
"Gay Rights and U.S. Foreign Aid: A Look at Nigeria and Uganda,"
The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development: Vol. 2:
Iss.
1, Article 2.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.arcadia.edu/agsjournal/vol2/iss1/2