An irony is that, in order to win the global influence game in the "global south", patrons need to be strict but also kind. Kindness is a strategic asset. 1/

see #KateMackenzie #TimSahay https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/marshall-plans/

Because kindness draws hope rather than blood, however, its deployment must be hidden from domestic constituencies whose own hope is in bitterly short supply. Rube Goldberg devices are invented merely to obscure the necessary kindness, but ultimately they sabotage it, and no one is helped, no one is satisfied. /fin