Cracks in the Consensus: Debating the Democracy Agenda in U.S. Foreign Policy

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Since the 1980s a remarkable consensus has emerged in U.S. foreign policy based on three main pillars: democracy, free trade, and open markets. The free trade and open markets issues currently are being debated in Congress, but recent events in Russia, Bosnia, Mexico, and Haiti (among others) force us to reexamine the democracy-fostering aspects of U.S. policy as well. Howard J. Wiarda offers a probing analysis of U.S. democracy/elections policy, exploring both the positive aspects of the policy and its negative implications. His volume ranges widely across countries and regions to examine Russia, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. It wrestles with the complex issues raised by the elections/democracy agenda and concludes with a series of recommendations for analysts and policymakers.

Author Bio

HOWARD J. WIARDA is Professor of Foreign Policy and Political Science and holds the Leonard J. Horwitz Chair of Latin American and Iberian Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is also Senior Associate of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He has also published extensively on foreign and strategic policy issues, comparative politics, the developing nations, Southern Europe, Latin America, and East Asia. His more recent books include American Foreign Policy: Actors and Processes, Democracy and Its Discontents, U.S. Foreign and Strategic Policy in the Post-Cold War Era, Introduction to Comparative Politics, Latin American Politics and Development, and Politics in Iberia. He serves as an adviser and consultant to the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and other government agencies and private businesses.