Democracy News

NDI President Kenneth Wollack Discusses ‘Assisting Democracy Abroad’
January 6, 2011
By: Randi Zung | Printer Friendly

In the Fall 2010 issue of the Harvard International Review, National Democratic Institute (NDI) President Kenneth Wollack discusses the United States’ (US) effort to promote democracy and human rights worldwide.  Specifically, Wollack questions if the US’ commitment to assisting with democracy promotion abroad “continues to advance America’s interests in pursuit of a more peaceful, prosperous and humane world.”  Discussing the evolution of democracy assistance in US foreign policy, Wollack states that the “global advance of democracy” became a foreign policy objective during the 1970s and 1980s and was nurtured by several sources, including the Reagan and Clinton administrations and the emergence of multilateral institutions and instruments. 

Following several democratic advances around the world, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Wollack identifies that democracy promotion emerged as an integral component of the global agenda. Citing increases in international collaboration, travel, and exchange, Wollack states that it became apparent that democratization yielded many positive economic and social benefits.  Additionally, democracy became increasingly favorable due to “the idea that democracies do not wage war against other democracies” and the desire to find nonviolent solutions to resolve conflicts.  During this time, the link between economic development and political stability influenced many international governments’ aid agencies to add democracy promotion to their poverty reduction missions.

Wollack states that international organizations, such as the United Nations Development Programme, are increasingly dedicated to promoting and funding initiatives for democracy abroad.  Additionally, regional intergovernmental organizations like the European Union, the Organization of American States, the African Union, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, have all worked to incorporate and advance democratic standards in their respective regions.  Wollack also credits an increase in the number of civil society organizations and political parties as helping to promote democratic standards.

Despite Wollack’s earlier discussion of the US’ commitment to promoting democracy, he states that the issue of democratic reform in the Arab world has been especially contentious due to deeply stratified opinion on the war in Iraq.  Other doubts about US democracy promotion were later stoked by reports of human rights abuses at the prisons of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, and by inconsistent relations with various friendly and unfriendly foreign autocratic governments.

Although democracy promotion continues to be a pressing issue, equally important would be the need to foster sustainable democratic reforms and assist new democracies from backsliding into authoritarianism.  Wollack states that the last four years have been marked by a democratic recession and that many semi-authoritarian states continue to hide behind a democratic façade, such as by holding sham elections or by suppressing civil society and the media. 

In conclusion, Wollack writes that ever-evolving challenges to democracy promotion will require the US and its allies to re-evaluate existing democracy promotion approaches and strategies in order to support further democratic growth, to support new democracies, and to foster sustainable democratic growth.  Furthermore, the US will be tasked with incorporating a “reinvigorated democracy assistance policy” into US foreign policy goals while simultaneously trying to “set the tone and provide needed diplomatic backing for democracy.”  In partnership with the growing professionalized international democracy community, Wollack asserts that the US should move past squabbles about whether or not democracy promotion is advantageous to US foreign policy and should instead focus on “[supporting] indigenous democratic movements and [nurturing] democratic impulses” in societies around the world.

Sources:
Harvard International Review – Assisting Democracy Abroad: American Values, American Interests