HAD AN INTERESTING LUNCH with U.T. Law faculty and a visiting scholar from Bulgaria. We actually have a pretty well-established connection there, started when one of my colleagues was observing elections a few years ago, but most of what I know about Bulgaria actually comes from reading Sofia Sideshow. Lots of interesting discussion about Bulgarian politics and diplomacy.

One point that he made was the great value of U.S. assistance in anti-corruption efforts via USAID and other agencies. I’ve heard this from quite a few people from various places. It’s the sort of thing that does a lot of good, but doesn’t get much attention. I don’t know if efforts along that line are getting more assistance now, or if they’re being turned into stepchildren because of the general focus on anti-terrorism. If the latter, then someone’s making a big mistake.