“The Brave New World of Democracy Promotion”

Greg Trunz at The Democratic Piece alerts us to a recent publication by Robert McMahon of the Council on Foreign Relations that provides a survey of the current “controversies surrounding the world of democracy promotion.” McMahon compiles recommendations from Republican, Democratic, and nonpartisan foreign policy experts that suggest a shift away from Bush’s freedom agenda. Recommendations include drawing a distinction between democracy promotion and regime change, establishing more modest goals and taking a more realistic approach to democracy promotion in the Middle East, improving coordination on democracy promotion across U.S. agencies, increasing involvement with multilateral organizations that deal with democracy, and emphasizing governance and rule of law over elections in transitioning countries.