Thomas Carothers, McKenzie Carrier
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Does Democracy Promotion Have a Future?
Thomas Carothers analyzes current challenges to democracy promotion in "Does Democracy Promotion Have a Future?" published in a new book on Democracy and Development, edited by Bernard Berendsen ( KIT Publishers, Amsterdam).
Source: Democracy and Development

When the organisers contacted me about this lecture, they essentially asked me to sum up the entire field of democracy promotion in thirty or forty minutes. This is actually an impossible task, but in a way, I think it is the right task now because many people these days are asking new but fundamental questions about the overall enterprise of democracy promotion. They are searching for some understanding of just what this endeavour really consists of and what it means.
About the Author
Harvey V. Fineberg Chair for Democracy Studies; Director, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Thomas Carothers, director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, is a leading expert on comparative democratization and international support for democracy.
- When Do Mass Protests Topple Autocrats?Commentary
- The Trump Administration’s Tangled Talk About Democracy AbroadArticle
Thomas Carothers, McKenzie Carrier
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.
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