WASHINGTON — US President George W. Bush seems an unlikely candidate to be a backer of nation building, the process whereby wealthier countries use money, expertise and encouragement to achieve good governance where it is lacking.

During the 2000 presidential campaign, Bush said President Bill Clinton’s administration had gone overboard on nation building, a view shared by many fellow Republicans. Nation building earned a bad name in 1993 when what started out as a US-led programme to feed starving Somalis got caught up in local politics and took a dark turn. A daylong firefight led to the deaths of 18 American soldiers, not to mention untold numbers of Somalis.

Driven by events, though, Bush has become a convert. Alluding to the Palestinian territories on Monday after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Bush said: “What we’ve got to do is work to put institutions in place which will allow for a government to develop.”

The idea is to have a smoothly functioning, accountable system in the territories, one that operates openly, enforces the law, roots out corruption and meets the basic needs of the people — all in place by the time a Palestinian state comes into being. This, Bush said, would give “great confidence” not only to Palestinians but to Israelis as well.

The United States is not yet deeply involved in Palestinian nation building but is encouraged that many Palestinians seem to have embraced the idea. Elsewhere, Washington is taking on the role of international handyman in earnest. An example is Afghanistan, where officials fear terrorism could resurface if the country is left to its own devices.

The administration is planning to spend $900 million in Afghanistan over two years in hopes of creating a vibrant democracy, leaving behind a generation of brutish misrule. Other donor countries are contributing as well.

After September 11, Pakistan emerged from relative obscurity on the US strategic map. The US assistance programme for Pakistan is $625 million this year, much of it to repair the sad state of Pakistani education.

It’s a place where thousands of schools teach Islamic fundamentalism — and breed militants. President Pervez Musharraf says the education system must be modernised. Washington concurs. In Colombia, the administration believes the twin evils of violence and drugs will persist unless the country strengthens its institutions, creates jobs, makes the justice system accessible to the majority and curbs corruption and persistent human rights abuses.

The United States has provided $1.7 billion in Colombia over the past two years, some for military assistance, the rest for nation building. The US track record of nation building is not good. Washington spent a small fortune in the 1980s trying it in Zaire and Liberia — with almost nothing to show for it.

Ivan Eland, a foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute, says he has little faith in the process. “Basically, people have to want to do it themselves,” he says. “If they are open to trade and investment, they probably won’t have much need for aid.”

In the Palestinian territories, the challenge is great and resources are scarce. But the administration believes the political imperatives of making the Palestinian Authority a viable entity ahead of statehood leave it no other option. — The Associated Press