Rethinking Democracy Support

Democracy promoters face new demands in the context of rapidly evolving world dynamics. Democracy support is under pressure in the wake of the financial crisis, the ongoing Arab Spring and other important global developments. For many recipients of democracy assistance, ‘liberal democracy’ as the blueprint for governance reform is now becoming a subject of debate. Difficult operational and conceptual challenges need to be tackled in democracy promotion today. This policy paper, which draws on extensive discussions with democracy practitioners, examines the dilemmas faced by liberal democracy promotion from the perspective of a European Research Council-funded project based at Aberystwyth University, entitled ‘Political Economies of Democratisation’. It suggests an innovative way forward that focuses on embracing the different ways democracy is understood and practised.