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REQUIRED IMAGE

REQUIRED IMAGE

In The Media

Should Democracy Be Promoted or Demoted?

Bush did not enter the White House with a mission to promote freedom around the world. As a presidential candidate, he put forward a modest foreign policy agenda that eschewed nation building. The events of September 11, 2001, however, radically jarred his thinking on the nature of international threats and triggered a fundamental reevaluation of his administration’s national security policy that elevated democracy promotion as a central objective of his foreign policy agenda.

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By Michael McFaul and Francis Fukuyama
Published on Nov 27, 2007

Source: Washington Quarterly

In his second inaugural address, on January 20, 2005, President George W. Bush used the word “freedom” 25 times, “liberty” 12 times, and “democracy” or “democratic” three times. Bush did not enter the White House with a mission to promote freedom around the world. As a presidential candidate, he put forward a modest foreign policy agenda that eschewed nation building. The events of September 11, 2001, however, radically jarred his thinking on the nature of international threats and triggered a fundamental reevaluation of his administration’s national security policy that elevated democracy promotion as a central objective of his foreign policy agenda.

Click here to read the full text.

About the Authors

Michael McFaul

Former Senior Associate

In addition to his role at Carnegie, McFaul is Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and associate professor of political science at Stanford University.

Francis Fukuyama

Nonresident Scholar, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program

Francis Fukuyama is a nonresident scholar in Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, where his research focuses on democratization and international political economy.

Authors

Michael McFaul
Former Senior Associate
Michael McFaul
Francis Fukuyama
Nonresident Scholar, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Francis Fukuyama
Political ReformDemocracyForeign PolicyNorth AmericaUnited StatesMiddle East

Carnegie India 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.

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