Paper
Thomas Carothers
Book
Critical Mission: Essays on Democracy Promotion
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.
Published on Sep 1, 2004
Source: Washington
Critical Mission draws together a wide-ranging set of Carothers’s many seminal, widely cited essays, organized around four vital themes: (1) the role of democracy promotion in U.S. foreign policy; (2) the core elements of democracy aid; (3) the state of democracy in the world; and (4) the new U.S. push to promote democracy in the Middle East. From puncturing myths about civil society promotion to sizing up the prospects for democracy in the Arab world, Carothers is consistently penetrating, incisive, and challenging to policy makers, democracy activists, and scholars alike.
Critical Mission also includes the only up-to-date, comprehensive bibliography on democracy promotion
About the Author
Thomas Carothers is director of the Democracy and Rule of Law Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His other books include Aiding Democracy Abroad: The Learning Curve , Funding Virtue: Civil Society Aid and Democracy Promotion, edited with Marina S. Ottaway, and Assessing Democracy Assistance: The Case of Romania.
Advance Praise
"Thomas Carothers is the world’s leading authority on democracy promotion. Though a passionate believer in the virtues of democracy, Carothers is no romantic. His analysis is as rigorous as it is compelling. This brilliant collection of essays reveals his unique sensibility: both hardheaded and humane. For anyone interested in the promise and pitfalls of promoting democracy around the world, Carothers's book is a gold mine."
—Robert Kagan, Author of Of Paradise and Power
"The promotion of democracy has never had a more thoughtful advocate or a tougher critic than Thomas Carothers. Balanced, incisive, steeped in local knowledge and yet focused on the big picture, this remarkable collection of trenchant essays is full of good judgments and sharp insights. Essential reading for both democracy’s critics and its advocates."
—Michael W. Doyle, Columbia University, author of Ways of War and Peace
This valuable collection of essays by Thomas Carothers provides penetrating analyses of the work of the rapidly growing global network of organizations dedicated to helping build an international community of democracies. Over the years we have gained an understanding of the difficulty and the necessity of establishing democratic institutions and practices; but there is no single recipe for this task. Carothers’s examinations have helped us think harder and more critically about our work and we are better at what we do because of his insights.
—Kenneth Wollack, President, National Democratic Institute
About the Author
Thomas Carothers
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.
- The Effects of U.S. Democratic Backsliding on U.S. Power
- Post-U.S. International Democracy Support: Aspiration in Search of SubstancePaper
Richard Youngs, 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 Endowment for International Peace
- Parliamentary Elections in Occupied Ukraine Risk Backfiring for the KremlinCommentary
Despite unhappiness on the ground, Moscow is determined to use both carrot and stick to ensure there is record support for United Russia in occupied Ukraine.
Konstantin Skorkin
- The Le Pen Verdict: How French Politics Turned MAGACommentary
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen can—and will—run in France’s next presidential election. What does the outcome of her appeal against a 2025 embezzlement conviction mean for the country’s political future?
Catherine Fieschi
- From Hormuz to the Maghreb: The Geopolitical Reach of a Gulf CrisisArticle
Morocco and Algeria, each in its own way, are having to navigate the global economic fallout of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
Yasmine Zarhloule
- Nolan’s "The Odyssey" Has a Colonialism ProblemCommentary
Despite Morocco’s hopes that its film industry would reap rewards, the blockbuster’s success will be tainted by controversy surrounding filming in occupied Western Sahara.
Sarah Yerkes
- Moldova’s Ruling Party PAS Must Graduate From Crisis Management to State GovernanceCommentary
Whether PAS can refocus on the unfinished business of state-building may ultimately prove more consequential for Moldova’s European future than the pace of its accession negotiations.
Balázs Jarábik
