Can the United States Promote Democracy?

Abstract

Is it possible for the United States to promote democracy and pluralism? Are there potential actions, programs, and policies to be undertaken or avoided -that will encourage the development of an appropriate system of checks and balances, promote the participation of existing and emerging groups in the political life of foreign nations, strengthen the rule of law in such countries, and enhance the protection of minority rights and values? If such initiatives do exist, then what are their chances of success? What factors will encourage or retard their effectiveness? These questions, formerly addressed only in remote academic circles, have recently moved to the forefront of the American foreign policy debate. The democratic revolutions of 1989, coupled with the retreat of authoritarian regimes in Latin America and parts of Asia and Africa, have prompted a resurgence of interest throughout the U.S. government and society at large in promoting democracy. The 1989 Support for East European Democracy (SEED) legislation authorizing U.S. spending for these purposes presupposes that such objectives are obtainable. It reads: