Serious Thinking About Democratization

Review by Thomas O. Melia

Edward R. McMahon and Thomas A.P. Sinclair, editors. Democratic Institution Performance; Research and Policy Perspectives. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2002, 267 pp. $64.950

The promotion of democracy abroad has emerged as the conceptual lynchpin of U.S. foreign policy in the current Bush administration. Whenever the president and his senior officials cast "terror" as the principal threat to U.S. security today- whether that terror is sponsored by states or by non-state actors, using weapons of mass destruction, suicide bombers, or small arms-democracy is generally presented as the solution. The remarkable address by President Bush on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy, in which he declared a long-term national commitment to foster democracy throughout the Arab Middle East, and chided American allies in Egypt and Saudi Arabia to get with the program, may constitute the boldest expression of this ambitious strategy.1 The military prowess, economic and financial strength, and political capital of the American superpower are now to be harnessed to the promotion of democracy, not only because it is seen to be the right thing to do, but also as the way to guarantee the long-term safety and prosperity of the United States. Despite the considerable resources at the government's disposal, the results thus far have been decidedly mixed. The question remains whether adequate know-how exists in the United States to make democracy promotion a success.

Thomas O. Melia is Director of Research at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.