Does Democracy Matter?: The United States and Global Democracy Support

Does democracy matter? Is democracy on the defensive globally? If so, what can or should be done to support democracy throughout the world? The present book arose from a conference dedicated to the following three related questions: Should fostering democracy be a major goal of U.S. foreign policy? If so, how can its effectiveness be improved? If not, what are the alternatives? Through an exploration of “soft power,” the authors of this book examine available knowledge and necessary new research agendas that will help us better understand both democratization efforts and authoritarian pushback in today’s difficult context.