| Abstract: | Democracy promotion has been an element of US foreign policy for over five decades. On the assumption that democracy promotion abroad is more a Democratic than Republican issue, one could hypothesise that a recent President like Bill Clinton was more likely to champion democracy promotion than a Republican President like George W. Bush. We suggest in this article, however, that the Clinton and Bush records on this matter thus far are more similar than one might expect. Moreover, we argue that structural or enduring features of international relations and American politics make the US contribution to enlarging the democratic community quite modest most of the time. The consistent elevation of economic and military/security concerns over democratic progress has had a negative effect. We conclude by offering a few brief suggestions for promoting democracy abroad with a focus on long-term effects. |
