‘One of the great freedom fighters’: John McCain, R.I.P.
Senator John McCain “was one of the great freedom fighters of all time,” according to a leading democracy advocate. “He was a champion of democracy wherever it was being… Read more »
Tag: promoting democracy
Great power competition requires standing up for democratic values
In its 2018 National Defense Strategy, released in January, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump correctly identified great–power competition as the United States’ central security challenge. In recent years, rival states… Read more »
Constitutional democracy’s ‘appeal and superiority can’t be taken for granted’
The Turkish election results confirm that security and a thriving economy, despite some recent weakness, trump most traditional democratic values, as many nations begin to shrug off their longstanding democratic exteriors,… Read more »
Is Russia part of a new ‘axis of evil’?
Newly-appointed National Security adviser John Bolton laid out his proposed strategy to respond to Russia’s “unacceptable” meddling in the 2016 presidential election and to Russian aggression around the world, speaking last month… Read more »
Why democracy assistance is not election meddling: distinguish support from sabotage
Some observers have argued that election “meddling” by Russia and other authoritarian regimes is acceptable because “everyone does it,” drawing a false comparison with democracy assistance. But advancing democracy has… Read more »
Has U.S. lost its ‘power of inspiration’ as a model of democracy?
The violent collapse of the Arab Spring has damaged the cause of liberal politics not just in the Middle East, but around the world. Strongman leaders are back in fashion… Read more »
Authoritarian resurgence makes democracy promotion even more vital
The idea that the U.S. should support the emergence of democracy around the world has been a pillar of American—and Republican—foreign policy for decades, says analyst Walter Russell Mead. But… Read more »
Dismantling Reagan’s infrastructure of democracy in face of ‘authoritarian international’?
The State Department’s fiscal 2019 budget request is a proposal not only to slash the budget of the National Endowment for Democracy but also to disassemble its relationships with its core institutes,… Read more »
Blending realism and idealism to defend democracy
The post-war consolidation of Western Europe’s fragile democracies was secured through an unprecedented initiative that matched interests to ideas and established the institutions that underpinned the post-war liberal order…. Read more »
Democracy promotion: a strategic interest or ‘a four-letter word’?
Democracy promotion in one form or another has long been part of U.S. foreign policy, notes Adam Garfinkle, a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. As American power… Read more »