Deferring Democracy: Promoting Openness in Authoritarian Regimes

(Paperback)

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The democratic surge in the past 20 years has led many Americans to assume that all societies are, or should be, making progress toward becoming practising democracies. Many in the United States, therefore, approach countries such as China, Iran and Indonesia with impatience and bewilderment. These seemingly intransigent "hold-outs" are the subject of intense policy debates, not least because they also play important roles in US security and economic policy. This book takes a fresh look at the prospects for political change in these countries and argues that immediate opportunities exist to advance political liberalization, with the possibility that democratization will follow in the mid- to long-term. But to encourage these trends, the United States must de-emphasize short-term human-rights concerns in favour of gradual democratization, develop new assistance strategies to enlarge political space and promote sub-regional, rather than global, frameworks.

Reviews

"A promising book.... This long essay is concise enough that policy practitioners will read it- in addition to think tank and university policy analysts." Mark P. Lagon, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Perspectives on Political Science, 10/1/2001

"This is a well-written and well-argued book. Dalpino's arguments are concise, clear, and convincing.... One can only hope that the right policy makers read the book." Mehran Kamrava, California State University, Northridge, Democratization, 1/1/2001

"An important book with a persuasive argument for a fundamental policy change in the West's and especially America's relations with authoritarian regimes." Dietrich Orlow, Boston University, Peace & Change

Author Bio

Catharin E. Dalpino is a fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies program at the Brookings Institution. She is a former deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor.