Article
Thomas Carothers
{
"authors": [
"Thomas Carothers"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "democracy",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "DCG",
"programs": [
"Democracy, Conflict, and Governance"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Middle East",
"China"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform",
"Democracy"
]
}
REQUIRED IMAGE
In The Media
Three Tyrants, One Test
Published on Dec 25, 2005
Source: New York Times
PRESIDENT BUSH'S ''freedom agenda'' rests on the idea that promoting democracy abroad is crucial to fighting terrorism. In his view, if democracy can spread to stagnant authoritarian states in the Middle East and elsewhere, it will undercut the roots of Islamic jihadism and other forms of violent political radicalism. This is a bold proposition, as appealing as it is unproved. American presidents of the last several decades embraced democracy promotion in principle but usually deferred it in practice when it came to friendly tyrants who supplied America with oil, sites for military bases and other economic and security benefits. President Bush's agenda implies a fundamental change in that pattern. Such relationships will have to change, not for the sake of mushy ideals, but in pursuit of a deeper, post-Sept. 11 security interest.
About the Author
Thomas Carothers
Harvey V. Fineberg Chair for Democracy Studies; Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Thomas Carothers, a senior fellow in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, is a leading expert on comparative democratization and international support for democracy.
- How Is Hungary’s New Government Doing?
- America Walks Away from Global DemocracyPaper
Thomas Carothers
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Europe
- Taking the Pulse: Can the EU Stare Down China on Trade?Commentary
The European Commissioner for Trade is headed to China. But after President Xi’s bridge-building visit to Washington, can a more isolated EU overcome Beijing’s stranglehold on critical raw materials? Who will blink first?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- How Le Pen Benefits from the Stalemate in UkraineCommentary
The domestic impacts of how long it is taking to end the war in Ukraine have pushed the French electorate to the political extremes and compromised the country’s diplomatic capacity.
Rym Momtaz
- The Uncomfortable Truth About EU EnlargementCommentary
Before the next wave of EU enlargement takes place, the union needs to grapple with thorny questions of how power is distributed among its members.
Emil Sondaj Hansen, Ditte Brasso Sørensen
- How Europe’s 2027 Elections Could Test EU GovernanceArticle
Radical-right parties are expected to do well in upcoming elections in four of the EU's biggest member states. If successful, they could prevent the union from addressing key challenges ahead.
Stefan Lehne
- Germany’s Shattered ConsensusCommentary
An overwhelming victory by a far-right-wing party in a small state in eastern Germany will have major repercussions for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition.
Judy Dempsey
