Unsustainable Development : A Look at Sweden and U.S.A. Foreign Aid to Haiti

Sammanfattning: Development on an international scale is important to fully grasp, as a globalized world means a combination of actors play a role. The discourse within international relations on development often discusses why, despite large and collective measures, very few nations see development through foreign aid. This thesis looks to understand how two actors—Sweden and the United States—effect the development of Haiti, a nation labeled by Euro-centric commentary as “the poorest nation in the west”. By conducting a Small N quantitative comparative research, understanding the foreign aid approaches by these two actors into Haiti is sought. Social constructivism, and the Lockean culture of analysis are applied to understand how the system of the world order affects these two actors’ foreign aid. The findings do not offer any conclusion as to how foreign aid affects development. However, it does apply insight into understanding why the actors behave the way they do, and how this is unsustainable in nature.