This article investigates aid delivery channels and their potential contribution to state-capacity-building in sub-Saharan African (SSA) fragile and conflict-affected states (FCSs) by drawing on the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States. Using the synthetic control method (SCM), the paper examines whether donors have implemented foreign aid following their commitment to the New Deal. It focuses on the period 2005–2019 and 44 SSA countries. Overall, the findings show that less aid is delivered through the public sector in FCSs, where building state capability is more necessary than in non-FCSs in SSA. This shows that donor foreign aid practices do not match their commitment to the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, although there are significant differences in donor practices. The tendency in donor aid-giving is to bypass the public sector, which does not necessarily help strengthen capacity in FCSs. It is a paradox of foreign aid to fragile states due to the contradiction between the short-term effectiveness of foreign aid and the long-term necessity of state-building in FCSs. With these findings, the paper calls for international efforts to improve aid-giving to support state capability in FCSs.

中文翻译：

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撒哈拉以南非洲脆弱国家新政和对外援助的悖论

本文利用《参与脆弱国家新政》，研究了援助交付渠道及其对撒哈拉以南非洲 (SSA) 脆弱国家和受冲突影响国家 (FCS) 国家能力建设的潜在贡献。本文使用综合控制方法 (SCM)，考察捐助者是否在承诺新政后实施了外援。它侧重于 2005-2019 年期间和 44 个 SSA 国家。总体而言，调查结果表明，在 FCS 中，通过公共部门提供的援助较少，与 SSA 中的非 FCS 相比，在 FCS 中建立国家能力更为必要。这表明捐助者的对外援助做法与其对脆弱国家参与新政的承诺不符，尽管捐助者的做法存在显着差异。捐助者提供援助的趋势是绕过公共部门，这不一定有助于加强 FCS 的能力。由于外国援助的短期有效性与 FCS 国家建设的长期必要性之间的矛盾，对脆弱国家的外国援助是一个悖论。根据这些发现，本文呼吁国际社会努力改善援助，以支持 FCS 中的国家能力。