Domestic Experience and its Effects on Democracy Promotion
Date
2008
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Abstract
This article argues that a country’s democracy promotion efforts will be underwritten by its domestic experience with democratic governance. It compares the statements of public officials from the United States, Great Britain and Canada, as well as the implicit assumptions which the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), and Canada’s Rights and Democracy (R&D) maintain are necessary for the longevity and health of democratic governments. It demonstrates that the NED emphasizes the presence of a virulent pro-democratic civil society, the WFD emphasizes the growth of party links and a strong party system, and R&D emphasizes the governance of diversity. The paper argues further that all of these points of emphasis coincide with each respective country’s domestic experience with democratic governance.