Friday, October 05, 2007

Exporting Democracy: What Have We Learned from Iraq?

DISSENT, Spring 2007
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The editors of Dissent posed the following question to several respondents:
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Iraq has provoked the bitterest debate about American foreign policy since Vietnam. One rationale for the war proposed by George W. Bush’s administration was that it would lead to democracy—first in Iraq and then elsewhere in the Middle East. Many people thought that this was never a serious intention, but it is probably true that some members of the administration believed that the war would make democratization possible in Iraq. Four years later, most observers would agree that this effort has failed, despite the holding of several elections. Whatever you think of the Bush administration’s motives, what is to be learned from the Iraq experience about the export—and import—of democracy?
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Read the Responses:
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http://dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=770
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for putting all of these thought-provoking opinions in one place. My husband is a refugee from the former Yugoslavia. The region is struggling for independence and the ability to define its own form of "democracy". I don't feel adequate to add to the very informed opinions you've gathered here, except to say that wars never seem to go to plan... or at least the public version of their objectives!

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