Should democracy be promoted abroad?

The Foreign Secretary says Britain has a moral 'mission' to spread democracy throughout the world

In a recent speech, Foreign Secretary David Miliband argued that, in spite of mistakes made in Iraq and Afghanistan, Britain should promote democracy around the globe.

Last July, the Hansard Society published a pamphlet which brought together leading experts to consider whether democracy is a universal good and whether it should be actively promoted. Democracy and Intervention, the fifth publication in the Democracy Series, asks whether democratic values can or should be exported from one country to another, how democracy can best be promoted and sustained and if the tensions between religious based democracy and liberal democracy are able to be resolved. A main essay by Professor Lord Bhikhu Parekh  is complemented by three commentaries providing a range of alternative views, from Kate Jenkins, Vice Chair of the Hansard Society, Dr John Chipman, Director-General of the International Institute of Strategic Studies and Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor, Channel 4 News.

Lord Parekh notes that this issue has gained prominence in recent years, most notably as a feature within western, and particularly United States, foreign policy. His essay examines what constitutes a democracy and the inherent contradiction in attempting to spread democracy to countries which may not wish to adopt it.

Kate Jenkins looks at the challenges to democracy that can occur when politics and religion meet. Dr John Chipman argues for good governance without full electoral democracy as a safer strategy than democracy without transparent and effective good governance. Lindsey Hilsum discusses the dangers and possible delusions that can arise with the desire to spread western liberal democracy. She focuses on the example of China where rapid economic development is not accompanied by democratic principles.

Democracy and Intervention is available free via download