October 27th, 2008 by Matt

Richard Haass, in a memo to the next president about the world that awaits him and what he should do about it, offers the following advice on democracy promotion to John McCain and Barack Obama:

“One area, however, where you would be wise to put some distance between yourself and “43″ involves democracy. America does not have the ability to transform the world. Nor do we have the luxury. We need to focus more on what countries do than on what they are. This is not an argument for ignoring human rights or setting aside our interest in promoting democracy. But we should go slow and focus on building its prerequisites—the checks and balances of civil society and constitutionalism—and not rush elections or impose political change through force. Bush was right when he called for a humble foreign policy. You should practice what he preached.”

Posted in Democracy Promotion, Election 08, US foreign policy, US politics |