It has become common donor practice to link high levels of partnership and assistance to economic and political performance criteria. This has resulted in higher aid flows to so-called high potential areas, and the neglect of “poor performers” – countries whose governments lack the capacity and often the will to implement pro-poor policies. Many of these “poor performers” are involved in or recovering from armed conflict.

The poor performers, or LICUS (low-income countries under stress) countries, have been the subject of a number of studies (eg World Bank work on LICUS countries, OECD/DAC work on “difficult partnerships”). In the light of the Millennium Development Goals²¹, it is argued that poor government performance cannot justify withholding aid from the millions of poor people who live in these countries. It has been noted that LICUS countries have a proclivity to become failed states and terrorist havens, causing instability throughout their respective regions and beyond. From a global security point of view, renewing development co-operation with these countries could become part of a civilian strategy to reduce conflict at a global level.