Democracy and Governance Mod 18

What is democracy according to procedural minimal conditions?

democracy minimally requires: free, fair, and regular elections; universal suffrage; freedom of expression; access to alternative sources of information; and associational autonomy (right to form organizations).

How does democracy affect foreign policy?

• electoral accountability making leaders responsive to public opinion

• expanded representation of diverse societal interests

• institutional constraints like separation of powers

• democratic identity creating shared values with other democracies.

What is democratic peace theory?

democracies rarely if ever go to war with each other due to: institutional constraints making war difficult to initiate, democratic norms favoring peaceful conflict resolution, electoral accountability creating war aversion, and shared identity creating trust between democratic states.

What are critiques of democratic peace theory?

the correlation may be coincidental or limited to specific time periods, democracies may be peaceful toward each other but aggressive toward non-democracies, shared interests (not regime type) may explain peace, and democratic transitions can increase conflict risk.

How has Democracy Promotion varied in US foreign policy?

Democracy promotion has fluctuated between: central focus (Wilson, Carter, Clinton, Bush periods), pragmatic secondary goal (Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy), and diminished priority (Nixon, Trump eras). Its importance often reflects security contexts and ideological shifts.

What are the two main tendencies in US policy toward authoritarian regimes?

 1) Idealist democracy promotion regardless of consequences

2) Pragmatic cooperation with authoritarian regimes when serving US interests. Krasner proposes a third way: "good enough governance" focusing on security, services, and growth rather than full democratization.