Advancing Democracy Abroad: Why We Should and How We Can
Advancing Democracy Abroad: Why We Should and How We Can
After eight years of President Bush's trumpeting the virtues of
promoting freedom and democracy abroad but achieving limited results,
many Americans have grown suspicious of democratic development as a
goal of American foreign policy. As a new administration reviews the
role democratization will play in its foreign policy, distinguished
Stanford University political scientist, Hoover Institution senior
fellow, and former Director of CDDRL Michael McFaul calls for a reaffirmation of democracy's advance
as a goal of U.S. foreign policy and sets out a radically new course to
achieve it.
In Advancing Democracy Abroad, McFaul
explains how democracy provides a more accountable system of
government, greater economic prosperity, and better security compared
with other systems of government. He then shows how Americans have
benefited from the advance of democracy abroad in the past, and
speculates about security, economic, and moral benefits for the United
States from potential democratic gains around the world. The final
chapters explore past examples of successful democracy promotion
strategies and outline proposals for effectively supporting democratic
development in the future.