American Democracy Promotion Essay

The Unites States of America and its government drilled into its citizens that they should spread the political idea of democracy for "the common good of the people". The United States government has established democracy in foreign lands, like Guam. They have encouraged countries to use democracy, like Mexico. There are still some countries though, that are not open to the idea of democracy, like Cuba for example. Some countries, like Russia and China, have been open to the idea of it and are incorporating democratic ideas into their government and economy. The biggest reason the United States spreads democracy is for economic and political gain. Money makes the

In two world wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf, Americans fought and died so that democracy would prevail around the world. In the minds of many Americans, America is the bastion of democracy. But how democratic is America? Today’s America was “born” with the signing of the constitution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There, it was determined how democratic America would be. And every American should ask himself how democratic America was made at that constitutional convention in Philadelphia.

The United States was the first successful democracy in modern. Why democracy has worked well in the United States. Why Iraq cannot become a democracy? Why Judaism is not compatible with democracy? What true democracy requires a time commitment? Proponents of democracy believe it is the best political system, although opponents believe it is more complicated, particularly in Mid-East nations.

Democracy: A political system in which citizens enjoy a number of basic civil and political rights, and in which their most important political leaders are elected in free and fair elections and accountable under a rule of law (26). In the studies we have undertaken, comparing and exploring various countries and systems politically, economically, and psychologically throughout the quarter, this outcry of democracy has prevailed as a main theme. Successful countries such as the United States and Great Britain are based upon such democratic ideals. It is no wonder that countries have striven more recently toward this goal of democratization. Both the Russian and Mexican revolutions prove that democracy is an attainable goal in the next

Since the middle ages, corporatism has taken a leading role in countries by involving different organizations into a group of people to develop cooperative associations on the basis of shared interests. In Europe, corporatism was the main objective of people in a country. For example, Lewis Mumford note that the basic society "was based on classes and ranks" and there was no guaranteeing demand through security and no power that did not recognize the legal obligations of a corporate profile (Mumford). Once democracy began to spread and become definite in the United States, the Americans began to experiment with new ideas and values. In America, corporatism began to evolve into a new system where the knowing of freedom and justice was

Current Issues, 35th edition, examines both the pros and cons of spreading democracy. This text explains that promoting democracy is in the U.S. national interest because democracy creates a safer, more stable world. Democratic nations cooperate with other nations and the U.S. better because they are more answerable to their citizens. The text also claims that such nations will deny terrorists from a base from which to plan and carry out attacks.

Democracy has become the most widespread political form of government during the past decade, after the fall of all its alternatives. During the second part of the 20th century, the 3 main enemies of democracy, namely communism, fascism and Nazism, lost most of their power and influence. However, democracy is still only to be found in less than half of this world's countries. China with a fifth of the total population "had never experienced a democratic government" and Russia still doesn't have a well established democracy. By adopting a democratic perspective, 3 types of governments emerge, non-democratic, new democracies, and old democracies, and all have a different challenge to overcome: either to become democratic, to "consolidate"

Democracy is an organization of government in which the people of a country decide by majority vote and it is a political system that is described as "a collectively recognized model." Along with the greater part of the world's populace that live in nations that are at least partly democratic and the efforts are based on the idea that democracy benefits people by protecting basic human rights. A large amount of Americans guess that democracy is a good thing and that the increase of democracy will be advantageous. The merits of democracy are taken for granted and are hardly ever fully enumerated and well thought-out and it is so important not to exaggerate or misrepresent the benefits of democratization. Human rights are based on important

Consequently, US democracy promotion of course does matter at all according to all individual theoretical approaches. Under Realism approach, with the strategy of democracy promotion as part of foreign policy, US has sought to replace authoritarian governments with the West’s political system of democracy, regardless of traditional values and without concern for the consequences (Cox et al., 2000). It thus seems like “mission” rather than “promotion.” And this may somehow cause negative international relations between US and its “missions.” For Liberalism approach, US democracy promotion has been surrounded by a liberal culture that supports the rule of law, human, and freedom of expression as well as other core civil rights (Markakis, 2012). And a consequence of this has been a considerable focus on civil society strengthening while establishing democracy. This approach hence suggests US democracy promotion initiatives which are likely to establish positive international relations between US and its allies, rather than causing negative

The American electoral institution set a precedent for a majority of the world’s modern democracies; that being said, most people on either side of the Atlantic fail to realize just how outdated America’s political structures are. Our majoritarian presidential system is defined by its inherently antagonistic nature, in which a winner-takes-all to result in a zero-sum game. Most European countries have undergone significant political changes in the past hundred years in response to interstate wars, acting as a means of prevention from authoritarian regimes. The United States, on the other hand, has not strayed far from its foundation that was instituted over two centuries ago. As many of these progressive democracies have shifted to a proportionally

The United States has long been a champion of promoting democracy to the world. Since the end of the Cold War, democracy promotion has ascended to the forefront of United States foreign policy objectives. To give a basic definition of democracy, I will refer to the definition of Freedom House, which essentially says democracies must allow all its citizens the right to vote, run for office, join political parties and also provide basic civil liberties such freedom of expression, rule of law and freedom to assemble. (Freedom House) These are in essence the minimum requirements needed to pronounce a country democratic.

As Secretary of the State, a member of the President’s Cabinet and National Security Council, the President should promote western democracy to other countries because the more countries become a democracy more peace will be created for the world. In other words, this will display the meaning of the Democratic Peace Theory. As a matter of fact, this creates less problems and threats for the U.S such as fewer enemies and potential military threats, which will enhance our U.S National Security. In addition, those who are in favor of spreading Democracy are making their citizens safer and are likely to be allied to the U.S. As a result, the use of military power will be lowered if countries have similar political systems as the U.S. However, countries such as China, Russia, Cuba, Arabian countries, and Islamic States who are against western democracy policies are getting into conflicts with the U.S.

Democracy has been in a leading position in the world since it began to gain popularity during the beginning of the 20th century (Fukuyama, 2006). Because it expanded through coercive means, it has meant that democracy continues to extend across the world. When communism began to decline, the West was able to extend democracy into several places both openly and discretely in order to encourage favorable political systems. The nature of the expansion of democracy has been criticized in terms of its legitimacy and viability in developing strong and sustainable governments and benefits to the people of the target states. Most scholars say that intervention cannot lead to a stable democracy, Pickering and Peceny for instance provide a bleak picture by portraying that in the 50 years from 1946-1996, 84% of states going through democratization were not through intervention. Enterline and Greig (2008), argue that 30% of attempts made

Democracy has often been affiliated with reflective notions such as freedom and liberty, as well as the belief that people deserve a voice to represent their demands and the majority of a population should have its way. The first idea of democracy promotion started with Wilsonian ideas, the democratic peace theorem, and the long-term security interests of all democracies (Huber, 2008). It is often regarded as an abstract concept with varying definitions that change based on the area the concept is being applied in. Fundamentally, the democracy practiced in the U.S. is inconceivable to apply to a region that is drastically different in a wide array of aspects. As a result, any associations with the concept of democracy in regions such as the Middle East must be regarded subjectively due to a different social, cultural, economic, and political environment. Furthermore, the manner in which states with undemocratic political systems are portrayed as being ‘failed’ states carries the connotation that being undemocratic is thus backward (Al-Jarrah, 2007). Given that the vast majority of the countries in the Middle East are predominantly Islamic, have diverse economies, and share a common Middle Eastern culture, these influences must be acknowledged for the respective roles they play in order to form an adequate definition for democracy in this region.

With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States and many other developed countries have begun to pay more attention to their policy of democracy promotion in the countries of the former communist bloc. As ex-President Clinton declared in his second State of the Union address in 1995, “Ultimately, the best strategy to ensure our security and to build a durable peace is to support the advance of democracy elsewhere” followed by his rhetoric, utopian statement, “The world’s greatest democracy will lead a whole world of democracies.”