The Triangle of Sadness: How Foreign Aid Catalyzes Investment, Producing Human Rights Violations

Vang, Alina; Apresyan, Ani

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/133319 Copy

Description

Title

The Triangle of Sadness: How Foreign Aid Catalyzes Investment, Producing Human Rights Violations

Author(s)

• Vang, Alina
• Apresyan, Ani

Issue Date

2026-04-14

Keyword(s)

• Cambodian foreign aid
• foreign direct investment
• Chinese direct investment
• labor rights violations
• scam compounds
• special economic zones

Date of Ingest

2026-05-23T14:09:59-05:00

Abstract

Our research focuses on how foreign aid to Southeast Asian countries influences their economies and enables economic development, as well as the potential ramifications of mismanaged foreign aid. We will be exploring special economic zones and their impact on Pacific countries’ economies and human rights violations that emerge from these hubs of economic activity. Additionally, we will be examining how factors such as the diversity of sectors in which foreign aid is implemented and the number of donors contributing to a country’s aid portfolio lead to diverging economic outcomes. Primarily, our research examines how investments from foreign aid in Southeast Asian developing countries contribute to human rights violations within local communities. Including, but not limited to, labor rights violations, an influx of human trafficking, an exacerbation of gender disparities, the formation of organized crime, and the gentrification of the local population. We argue that mishandled foreign economic aid leads to unsustainable development, increases human rights violations over time, and leaves developing countries with the crippling cycle of demanding more global support and assistance. We intend to utilize quantitative economic data in conjunction with qualitative data from primary sources to demonstrate the connection between foreign aid, economic development, and human rights. We will quantify and measure the increase in human rights violations by accounting for the increase in foreign aid requested after a province has already undergone initial foreign economic aid and development, in order to map out patterns of foreign aid over time and their subsequent link to human rights in targeted countries. We will conduct comparative analyses of countries in Southeast Asia to highlight examples of both successful and unsuccessful foreign aid initiatives and propose theories on how foreign aid can be implemented in a manner that fortifies human rights, rather than detracting from citizens’ welfare.

Type of Resource

Poster

Genre of Resource

conference poster

Language

eng

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