The Information Paradox: Aid, Social Protection, and the Social Contract in Areas of Conflict and State Fragility
2026-07-29
How do government-led social safety net programs in areas of violence, conflict, and state fragility shape trust in governments? Drawing on 394 qualitative interviews across twenty villages in Burkina Faso and Cameroon, we found that knowledge of governments’ roles in aid delivery programs can be a double-edged sword. While government attribution seems to improve attitudes towards governments in program sites, it widens the gap between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries’ confidence in state institutions. Indeed, non-beneficiaries with the highest levels of information and government attribution were likely to feel more neglected by the state than those with no information. We refer to this dynamic as an information paradox, wherein information about the government’s role boosts trust in the state for some and undermines it for others.