Description
Accepting as a given that a central aim of US foreign policy is "democratization," Carothers (director, Democracy and Rule of Law Project at the Carnegie Endowment) comments on different aspects of the democracy promotion program in a series of 19 previously published essays. He reviews and assesses the Clinton and Bush records on democracy promotion; considers "core elements" of democracy aid including election monitoring, rule of law promotion, and financial assistance to civil society groups; and analyzes the Bush administration's newfound interest in promoting democracy in the Middle East. Occasionally, such as in the case of his criticism of the transition paradigm of democratization, he includes other voices criticizing his work. Distributed in the US by Brookings Institution Press. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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Demand for practical knowledge and lessons about how the United States and other countries can more effectively promote democracy around the world has never been higher. This timely book by Thomas Carothers, one of the foremost authorities worldwide on democracy building, helps meet that need. Critical Mission draws together a wide-ranging set of Carothers's many seminal, widely cited essays, organized around four vital themes: the role of democracy promotion in U.S. foreign policy the core elements of democracy aid the state of democracy in the world the new U.S. push to promote democracy in the Middle East From puncturing myths about promoting civil society to sizing up the prospects for democracy in the Arab world, Carothers is consistently penetrating, incisive, and challenging to policymakers, democracy activists, and scholars alike.The book also includes the only up-to-date, comprehensive bibliography on democracy promotion.
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