This project—encompassing a book, a paper series, and public seminars—is under the direction of Morton H. Halperin, and explores whether and in what manner the United States should continue to support individuals and groups working to establish democracy in non-democratic countries, and support governments as well as individuals and groups in countries that are on the path to democracy.

With some of the most colossal U.S. foreign policy failures of recent years having been initiated under the guise of “promoting democracy,” many are questioning whether democracy promotion should continue to be a key element of American foreign policy. Some argue that the invocation of democracy promotion as a cover for advancing American interests in recent years has so tainted the goal that it should be abandoned in favor of returning to an emphasis on some combination of “realpolitik” and episodic protection of human rights.

The project and the book that issues from it will consider the case for including efforts to foster democracy around the world as a key component of U.S. foreign policy in conjunction with allies, such as the European Union and its member states, as well as key democratic countries in the global south. It aims to assess how the United States and other democratic partners can best support democracies through global and regional institutions, such as the Organization of American States, the Community of Democracies, and the United Nations (including the Human Rights Council and the U.N. Democracy Fund). It will explore what some see as a reluctance among democracies in the developing world, and sometimes even Europe, to “evangelize” for democracy, and identify the ways in which they can and sometimes do assist in expanding democratic space.

The project is informed by a seminar series and commissioned papers addressing various relevant issues, particularly the problems of some specific regions where particular histories suggest a need for special attention.