Beyond bombs and ballots: dispelling myths about democracy assistance.

• Author: Mitchell, Lincoln A.
• Position: Report

A CENTRAL component of American foreign policy since the First World War is now under attack. In popular American perception, democracy promotion has become linked to the aggressive foreign policy of the Bush Administration, most notably the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars are now frequently cited to caricature all democracy assistance as "bombs and ballots" initiatives that depend excessively on military action and elections.

Critics of democracy promotion have emerged primarily from the left wing of the Democratic Party and the centrist or realist wing of the Republican Party. Even some neoconservatives and moderate Democrats have joined the chorus, calling for a reduced emphasis on democracy promotion and a return to a more realist, if not isolationist, foreign policy.

Critics seizing on the "ballots" half of the argument highlight the inadequacies of elections in ensuring democracy and their propensity to cause explosive consequences if elections are introduced at the wrong place or time--arguments offered in various ways by Ian Bremmer in "In the Right Direction", from the January/ February 2007 issue, and Jack Snyder and Edward D. Mansfied in "Prone to Violence", from the Winter 2005/06 issue. Many critics point particularly to the possible perils of conducting early elections in countries that are ethnically divided or emerging from conflict.

Fair enough--but democracy assistance entails more than just elections. Scholars and practitioners have long been aware of the dangers of relying too heavily on elections as the midwives of peaceful democratization. What's more, academic debates over the ideal sequencing of institution-building and elections are of little value to practitioners and activists within democratizing countries, who understand that strengthening institutions, supporting civil society and conducting elections generally have to be done at the same time.

We would all prefer democratizing countries to conduct elections in contexts where cohesive and accountable political parties elect people to strong legislatures in a climate where the laws are understood and enforced. There's a name for such countries: democracies. Democratizing countries do not meet this panoply of criteria.

Elections in transitional countries are often scheduled by the authoritarian ruler and rigged to ensure reelection of the ruling party. These types of elections raise a different set of challenges. Democrats facing the prospect of a stolen election turn to the United States and Europe for help in somehow making the election fair. In these cases, the West is faced with the choice of working to make the election fairer or ignoring the direct pleas of activists that labor, often at great personal risk, for democratic change. Often it is not feasible to make the elections fair, but supporting these activists in their work and struggle is a different, and more common, aspect of democracy assistance.

And while it is important to recognize that early elections have been perilous for many democratizing countries--particularly in post-conflict settings--elections can also create or accelerate democratic breakthroughs. It is impossible to imagine the color revolutions in the former Soviet Union occurring had there not been elections around which democrats were able to organize. Elections also played key roles in democratic breakthroughs in South American countries, such as Chile and Brazil, where democratic institutions are now relatively strong.

Countries where democracy assistance has helped facilitate democratic development might be considered the quieter success stories of democracy assistance. Examples of countries where this has occurred over the last ten to...