Commentary
Lessons from other backsliding democracies show that mass mobilization needs to feed into an electoral strategy.
Saskia Brechenmacher, Shreya Joshi
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Paper
The Complexity of Success: The U.S. Role in Russian Rule of Law Reform
Western assistance should focus on catalyzing domestic reform, a strategy that has received little attention to date. Matthew J. Spence argues that reform can be successful when two conditions are present: first, a policy entrepreneur who favors reform and enjoys some political space to make efforts reality; and second, a plan to implement reforms already part of the policy debate.
By Matthew J. Spence
Published on Jul 26, 2005
Summary
In the 1990s, the United States sought to promote the rule of law in many parts of the former Soviet Union and beyond, often with little success. Yet in 2001, Russia adopted a liberal new Criminal Procedure Code and introduced jury trials after nearly a decade of U.S. rule-of-law assistance that supported precisely these steps. How did U.S. policy contribute to this reform? Why did these reforms succeed while others failed?
In this new Carnegie Paper, Matthew J. Spence argues that Western assistance should focus on catalyzing domestic reform, a strategy that has received little attention to date. He argues that reform can be successful when two conditions are present: first, a policy entrepreneur who favors reform and enjoys some political space to make efforts reality; and second, a plan to implement reforms already part of the policy debate.
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About the Author
Matthew J. Spence is a director of the Truman National Security Project and Associate World Fellow at Yale University.
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About the Author
Matthew J. Spence
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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