Ryan Jablonski's Dependency Politics examines how democracy works in aid-dependent countries. He draws on over six years of fieldwork to investigate relationships between donors and politicians, showing how politicians make policy and how aid dependency changes voters' assessments of politician performance. He reveals that voters don't simply reward politicians for aid, rather they condition their votes on beliefs about how politicians influence aid delivery. This leads to a 'visibility-uncertainty' paradox where aid can either enhance or erode democratic accountability. Revisiting assumptions about the effects of foreign aid on political behavior, he also explains how aid can cause citizens to vote against their interests and sometimes benefit opposition candidates over incumbents. Drawing on surveys, interviews, focus groups, and field experiments, Jablonski challenges conventional wisdom about foreign aid and offers lessons for balancing trade-offs over aid effectiveness, political capture and capacity-building. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

‘Ryan Jablonski’s Dependency Politics is a landmark contribution to the study of foreign aid and political accountability. With striking theoretical clarity and extraordinary original evidence, it fundamentally reshapes how we understand the political consequences of aid. Jablonski shows convincingly that aid is not merely an economic transfer but a central force structuring electoral incentives and democratic politics. This is essential reading for scholars, policymakers, and anyone seeking to understand development and democracy.’

Axel Dreher - Professor of International and Development Politics, Heidelberg University, Germany

‘The most systematic and clear-sighted study yet published on aid bargains and how negotiations over foreign aid shape electoral behavior in highly dependent countries.  Essential reading for everyone interested in aid, elections, and the politics of the development in Africa – and beyond.’

Nic Cheeseman - Professor of Democracy and Director of the Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation (CEDAR), University of Birmingham

‘In an excellent window into the hidden life of foreign aid. Dependency Politics shows that when donors fund the state, they don't just build schools, they rewrite the rules of the electoral game. For anyone who cares about why democratic accountability so often fails in the world’s poorest countries, this book provides an important piece of the puzzle. Jablonski has made an essential contribution to the study of international relations and comparative politics.’

Susan D. Hyde - Robson Professor of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley

‘Local politicians in Africa get elected by promising to bring development to their constituents. But they can almost never deliver on their promises without funding from donors and NGOs. In Dependency Politics, Ryan Jablonski shows how this dependence shapes how politicians invest their time and how voters allocate credit and blame, with important consequences for political accountability and the operation of democracy. A must-read for those seeking to understand how aid shapes politics.’

Daniel N. Posner - University of California, Los Angeles