Democracy Promotion
Benefits and Downsides
Democracypromotion has been a longstanding element of U.S. foreign policy. In recentyears, however, it has become a primary component. Under the George W. BushAdministration, efforts to spread freedom to Iraq and around the world have beenviewed as a tool to end tyranny and fight terrorism, as the way to promotestability in troubled regions, and as a mechanism to increase prosperity inpoor countries. The democracy promotion ideal is nowunder close scrutiny. While some observers believe that spreading democracy isa key foreign policy priority, others argue that democracy promotion is but oneof a number of U.S.strategic objectives and not necessarily the…
