“Nations which would like to ensure that foreign powers do not meddle in their internal affairs, must see to it that generally, their foreign policy does not become a matter for party controversy. If our relations with other countries are determined on a party basis, and our various parties take up variegated attitudes in that regard, foreign powers will surely begin taking interest in our internal politics. India is a free democratic country where foreign nationals anew legation enjoy unfettered liberty. According to the terms of some foreign loan and aid agreements with India, some embassies also have the right to disburse considerable moneys in the country. In these circumstances, if political platforms are to be used for advocating or canvassing associations or alignments with particular blocs, it is tantamount to an invitation to them to gamble with our international affairs”. —Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, Alignment Vs Non-Alignment, Special Article, Organiser (Weekly), July 18, 1960
The Trump administration froze the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding on January 29, 2025. Since then, the dark side of the funding agency has been exposed daily. The beneficiaries of the financial aid have been crying foul. Instead of getting carried away with the propaganda of the parasite organisations and news agencies that were eating into the American taxpayers’ money in the name of humanitarian assistance to other countries, what we need is a realistic assessment of the role of agencies like USAID in vitiating international affairs.
The USAID, established in 1961 to provide humanitarian aid and promote economic aid, has been a key player in furthering American geopolitical interests in the name of contribution to economic, health, and educational programmess in various developing countries. As per the stated objectives, USAID should “further America’s foreign policy interests in expanding democracy and free markets while improving the lives of the citizens of the developing world”. The economic assistance being used as a foreign policy tool is not a new strategy. Since World War II, this has been an influential foreign policy instrument for the superpowers to maintain their influence in respective blocs or create fissures in the opposite one. Over the period, USAID created a web of self-serving networks with a whopping budget of more than $40 billion of combined appropriations in 2023 and more than 10,000 staff members. The lobbies in defence production, agriculture and fertilisers, infrastructure development, healthcare, banking and finance, etc., used this aid to serve their vested interests. First, promoting the war to encourage the arms race and then doubling the income in the name of reconstruction has been a vicious cyclical process in the American economy. The regime change operations abroad have been an extension of this selfish money-laundering in the name of aid.
There are notable case studies of USAID-backed regime change operations. The 2014 Euromaidan movement that led to the overthrow of Ukraine’s pro-Russian president – Viktor Yanukovych, to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, the coup against Evo Morales in Bolivia, multiple regime change attempts in Cuba, the infamous Arab Spring in Egypt, and the recent overthrowing of democratically elected Government of Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh etc are the few cases where USAID was directly involved. The financial and technical support to opposition groups, NGOs, media outlets, and civil society organisations in countries where the U.S. seeks to influence political outcomes destabilised the countries and promoted extremism.
Democracies like Bharat are the biggest victims of this dangerous game. USAID has funded various NGOs in Bharat, particularly in human rights, environmental activism, and governance to promote anti-Government and anti-development narratives. Instead of strengthening democracy, it has fuelled social unrest with unending protests and media campaigns. Bharat’s Intelligence agencies accused foreign-funded NGOs of slowing Bharat’s economic growth by opposing key projects. In 2017, the Government of Bharat restricted foreign funding to certain NGOs, citing concerns over USAID-linked organisations interfering in internal matters such as environmental activism and human rights advocacy. During the Cold War, USAID’s assistance influenced by America’s desire to counter Soviet influence in South Asia was understandable. When the Bharat-US relationship is thriving for democratic and peaceful world order, what is the logic of interfering and destabilising polity?
The USAID-like façade is not favourable for the interests of the U.S. and the rules-based world order. Using a Trojan Horse to aid anarchy in the name of development assistance is disastrous for the American interests, as we have seen in case of Egypt and Afghanistan. Bharat’s approach in Afghanistan and Maldives is exemplary in this regard, where hostile regimes did not change their policy towards people. The budget freezing for the controversial agency has allowed the U.S. to review the self-inflicting design. For a country like Bharat, it is an opportunity to expose different actors involved in amassing wealth in the name of humanitarian aid. This approach will pave the way for evolving a consensual national foreign policy guided by genuine national interests and not by the interests of a few families or NGOs.
