The article examines how the U.S. government traditionally used foreign aid to build global goodwill. It questions the effectiveness of this strategy and considers the implications of potential reductions in international aid.

The U.S. government long saw giving international aid as a way to build goodwill throughout the world. Did it work? And what does the reducing of foreign aid mean for that effort now? <img alt="A protester carries a sign that equates foreign aid with soft power during a rally near the U.S. Capitol to protest the dismantling of USAID, the international agency charged with dispensing humanitarian aid around the world on behalf of the United States." src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default...