A critical perspective on democracy promotion

Abstract

The global spread of democracy is considered one of the most remarkable changes in world politics in the 20^th  century. Due to the strong correlation between the democratic system and the free market, democracy promotion began to become a more common practice, carried out by an increasing number of international actors. The purpose of this article is to take a critical view of democracy promotion. In doing so, it is important to show which actors are promoting democracy, as well as to present their main objectives, in order to finally focus on a critical analysis of the phenomenon of democracy promotion, with a reference to the most important arguments appearing on the subject, both in academic and political discourse. The article singles out key factors affecting the weakening of democracy promotion abroad, pointing to: the limited ability of international actors to influence the democratization process of individual countries, which depends on a number of internal factors; the decline in credibility, trust in democracy promoters (especially the US), and the conflict of goals and interests.