The authors are former employees of the United States Agency for International Development who supported the USAID portfolio of assistance in Syria.

Foreign aid still matters—not as a charity, but as a stabilizing force for governance itself. Properly targeted assistance can act as a democratic buffer when fiscal collapse threatens civic trust.

Foreign aid has often been debated as either an altruistic transfer of resources or a strategic geopolitical policy tool. From a game-theoretic perspective, it functions more as a calculated move in a dynamic, multiplayer game than as magnanimous financial assistance. States interact in repeated rounds of cooperation, competition, and signaling, where aid becomes a strategy to maximize long-term payoffs. This essay examines the benefits of U.S. foreign aid to developing and less developed countries using game-theoretic reasoning, illustrated with a dynamic game tree.

The government shutdown is devastating the U.S. government's workforce and weakening already badly damaged foreign partnerships.

The state of food aid and agricultural development support in the region.

Well-executed foreign aid that promotes stability, good governance, and human rights is a vital tool of U.S. security and diplomacy. Current and proposed cuts risk undermining global development and the United States' leadership abroad.

The absence of U.S. foreign aid places Poland at a critical crossroads, where U.S. re-engagement could reaffirm American leadership in democratic development.

The withdrawal of $8.3 billion in U.S. foreign assistance funding has left nonprofits and government contractors scrambling to sustain the progress they once facilitated.

In an era of great power competition and emerging global threats, reducing PEPFAR is a strategic blunder that weakens America's position precisely when strength matters most.

Foreign aid, particularly global health assistance, is not a charitable endeavor—it is a strategic investment in the well-being, stability, and security of the United States.

Despite more than $335 million in U.S. investment over the past decade, Tunisians continue to report deep distrust in their local government, reflecting a broader erosion of democratic legitimacy across the country.

What once represented a transformative opportunity for Nepal’s economy and a landmark achievement in U.S. foreign policy now hangs in limbo.