Overview

After eight years of President Bush's trumpeting the virtues of promoting freedom and democracy abroad but achieving limited results, many Americans have grown suspicious of democratic development as a goal of American foreign policy. As a new administration reviews the role democratization will play in its foreign policy, distinguished Stanford University political scientist and Hoover Institution senior fellow Michael McFaul calls for a reaffirmation of democracy's advance as a goal of U.S. foreign policy and sets out a radically new course to achieve it. In Advancing Democracy Abroad, McFaul explains how democracy provides a more accountable system of government, greater economic prosperity, and better security compared with other systems of government. He then shows how Americans have benefited from the advance of democracy abroad in the past, and speculates about security, economic, and moral benefits for the United States from potential democratic gains around the world. The final chapters explore past examples of successful democracy promotion strategies and outline proposals for effectively supporting democratic development in the future. Published in cooperation with the Hoover Institution

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9781442201118

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McFaul offers a spirited defense of democracy promotion as a necessary component of the United States' global strategy. He makes a compelling case that established democracies are unusually reliable partners... Foreign Affairs If democracy and human rights becomes a priority for the Obama administration, it may be because of the influence in internal debates of Michael McFaul, senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs on the National Security Council. In his new book McFaul makes an unapologetic case for democracy and takes on the 'renaissance' of realists and their perennial claims about how supporting democracy hurts American interests. For the foreseeable future, American leadership remains indispensable. That leadership, in turn, depends on officials like McFaul who believe that promoting democracy is in the American national interest, and in the interest of people living under dictatorships. The Weekly Standard Michael McFaul takes stock, as an academic, of the achievements and failures of previous US efforts in this area, and makes a strong case for putting democracy promotion back at the heart of U.S. foreign policy... The analysis is robust and relevant... McFaul has sounded the wake-up call. Survival Recommended. CHOICE Readers will find this a provocative, erudite and well written book. It is much stronger on policy recommendations for the Obama administration than on the political science of democracy promotion. Though partisan in argument, the author raises counter-propositions and in doing so gives the reader useful references to other views. Europe-Asia Studies Michael McFaul, Standford professor of political science currently serving as Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian affairs at the National Security Council, has written a cogent case for the proposition that people around the world would be better off under democracy and that promoting democracy serves American interests. Parameters Michael McFaul is one of America's foremost experts on the promotion of democracy abroad. His new book is a thoughtful and informative study of the role of democracy promotion in U.S. foreign policy, one that makes a sober assessment of the current backlash against democracy and the legacy of the Bush years. -- Fukuyama, Francis Promoting democracy and human rights is not just the right thing to do. For America it is the smart thing to do. Mike McFaul--one of our country's best on foreign policy--explains why in Advancing Democracy Abroad. He also shows how, with clear and innovative ideas. Anyone who cares about U.S. foreign policy should read this book. -- Madeleine Albright This bull's-eye book enhances understanding of the democratic process and sets out in a compelling way ideas about how to advance that process. -- George P. Shultz

This bull's-eye book enhances understanding of the democratic process and sets out in a compelling way ideas about how to advance that process.--George P. Shultz

McFaul offers a spirited defense of democracy promotion as a necessary component of the United States' global strategy. He makes a compelling case that established democracies are unusually reliable partners... Foreign Affairs If democracy and human rights becomes a priority for the Obama administration, it may be because of the influence in internal debates of Michael McFaul, senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs on the National Security Council. In his new book McFaul makes an unapologetic case for democracy and takes on the 'renaissance' of realists and their perennial claims about how supporting democracy hurts American interests. For the foreseeable future, American leadership remains indispensable. That leadership, in turn, depends on officials like McFaul who believe that promoting democracy is in the American national interest, and in the interest of people living under dictatorships. The Weekly Standard Michael McFaul takes stock, as an academic, of the achievements and failures of previous US efforts in this area, and makes a strong case for putting democracy promotion back at the heart of U.S. foreign policy... The analysis is robust and relevant... McFaul has sounded the wake-up call. Survival Recommended. CHOICE Readers will find this a provocative, erudite and well written book. It is much stronger on policy recommendations for the Obama administration than on the political science of democracy promotion. Though partisan in argument, the author raises counter-propositions and in doing so gives the reader useful references to other views. Europe-Asia Studies Michael McFaul, Standford professor of political science currently serving as Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian affairs at the National Security Council, has written a cogent case for the proposition that people around the world would be better off under democracy and that promoting democracy serves American interests. Parameters Michael McFaul is one of America's foremost experts on the promotion of democracy abroad. His new book is a thoughtful and informative study of the role of democracy promotion in U.S. foreign policy, one that makes a sober assessment of the current backlash against democracy and the legacy of the Bush years. -- Francis Fukuyama, author of The End of History and the Last Man Promoting democracy and human rights is not just the right thing to do. For America it is the smart thing to do. Mike McFaul-one of our country's best on foreign policy-explains why in Advancing Democracy Abroad. He also shows how, with clear and innovative ideas. Anyone who cares about U.S. foreign policy should read this book. -- Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001 This bull's-eye book enhances understanding of the democratic process and sets out in a compelling way ideas about how to advance that process. -- George P. Shultz, former U.S. Secretary of State from 1982 to 1989

Author Information

Michael A. McFaul, on leave as professor of political science at Stanford University and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, is U.S. ambassador to Russia (2012).

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