Effective in the short or long-term? IO project effectiveness and the role of IO-government relationships

One of the key critiques leveraged against international organization (IO) projects is that they often lack long-term effectiveness. Such long-term effectiveness necessitates structural changes, in the form of, for instance, strengthening building codes and restructuring ministries. Projects considered successful have short-term benefits, but once the project wraps up, these benefits often quickly disappear and in some cases years later little trace of such projects can be found. Why does this happen? In this paper, I argue that a paradox in the relationship between international organizations and national governments lies at the heart of this problem: while a cooperative IO-government relationship can facilitate IO projects in the short-term, it may undermine long-term effectiveness. Where IOs do push for long-term, structural changes, this is also fraught with difficulties, including behaviors that could be classified as neo-colonial. To make this argument I focus on two housing and three agriculture projects implemented in the Caribbean island of Dominica, after hurricane Maria devastated the small island state. I draw on participant observation as well as over 110 interviews with disaster-affected residents, and government and international organization employees. This paper contributes to theories on international organizations, but also has clear practical implications for how IOs run their projects.