Human rights and choice in poverty : food insecurity, dependency, and human rights-based development aid for the Third World rural poor / Alan G. Smith.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [165]-178) and index.

1. The Predicament and Its Background -- 2. The Theoretical Model -- 3. Poverty, Clientelistic Dependency, and the Target Group Indicator in Bangladesh, Botswana, and Tanzania -- 4. The Choice Structure -- 5. Conclusion: The Remedy.

This interdisciplinary study applies human rights theory to the problems of rural poverty in the Third World. Considering the interdependence of minimal food and health security with minimal assurance of basic freedoms, political scientist Alan G. Smith traces the linkage to the need of the food-insecure to seek clientelistic dependencies on better-off neighborsNr̃elationships that often operate to restrict freedom of choice. In contrast to conventional rural development aid, which can introduce new client dependency if pursued alone, Smith stresses the need to find other forms of aid that woul.